


Endgame: Rewritten

by CharCubed (alwaysanoriginal)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, BAMF Nebula (Marvel), Canon Divergence - Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Clint Barton is not a serial killer, Everybody Lives, F/M, Fix-It, Gen, King Thor, Logic, Morgan Stark is not a plot device, Multiple resurrections, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Screenplay/Script Format, Steve Rogers acting like Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Lives, a lot of platonic hugging, a realistic approach to fixing a Marvel movie, all the loose ends are tied, author types out action scenes with limited success, emotionally satisfying reunions, fan service but make it good, justice for Gamora, justice for Nebula, justice for the fandom, no one goes to Vormir, screenfic? ficplay?, there's not a single death other than Thanos & Co, zero (0) fat jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:48:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 48,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23737111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alwaysanoriginal/pseuds/CharCubed
Summary: Part of the journey is the end.That doesn’t have to be a bad thing.---I didn't think Endgame was a good movie... but it could've been. I liked a lot of things about it, including the framework they had. But I felt it crucially lacked some heart, logic, and justice for many characters' storylines, all of which I tried to add... while providing a truly happy ending.This is now my personal canon.Everything taken directly from movie canon is in bold.Some scenes are transcribed exactly the same, some are similar but slightly modified, and huge chunks are purely my own. The farther you read, the less bold / canon pieces there will be!Please read the notes before diving in :)---Also featuring a soundtrack compiled from MCU scores by my wonderful friend Jayn!
Relationships: Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Gamora & Nebula (Marvel), James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers (subtext), James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, Loki & Thor (Marvel), Nebula & Rocket Raccoon, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers & Tony Stark, the "subtext" is on par with the Cap trilogy
Comments: 382
Kudos: 550
Collections: marvel fics that are marvelous





	1. Where Are They?

**Author's Note:**

> I consciously broke some screenplay rules in this for the sake of legibility, which also accounts for its length. Please don’t judge my (deliberately OR ignorantly) poor formatting. I know it’s wrong, but it was never meant to be 100% right. Also, I am crossing all my fingers that this AO3 coding holds up! [screams]
> 
> \---
> 
> If you'd like to read it in a different format...
> 
> -[Download the formatted PDF](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O1Wrq6Ym_i6Jzk9DPsWgnV91pEPxSODn/view?usp=sharing)  
> (If you try to download it through AO3's download buttons, it _won't_ work because of the formatting, sorry!)
> 
> -[Find out how to get a physical copy](https://endgamerewrite.tumblr.com/printedbook)
> 
> \---
> 
> The soundtrack list and accompanied scenes (with SPOILERS) are in the last chapter, or at the end of the PDF/book!
> 
> A note from Jayn:  
>  _For anybody who tries to listen to the soundtrack while they read: The songs are VERY MUCH designed to go with specific scenes, so your-mileage-may-vary depending on how fast you read, different formatting, etc. with regards to whether the songs will always align well. That said, since the very last chapter is actually an outline of the soundtrack and each scene it goes with (Spoilers!), I would recommend giving the whole thing a second read-through with careful consideration of the music, so you can get the desired effect!_
> 
> To listen to the soundtrack score while you read without spoilers:
> 
> [On Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6DArce4oqhAtIyAwECUSij?si=14QxDgCKTmOSAJ645nmB6A) | [On Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/endgame-rewritten-the-soundtrack/pl.u-xlyNEpduekGZd5) | [On Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLimolX_CHSPLm3yykNYJR7CnnIy6kDQ0K)  
> Find more info about the music (including the B-side) [on our Tumblr](https://endgamerewrite.tumblr.com/soundtrack), or in the last chapter after you're done reading!

EXT. BARTON HOME - BACKYARD - MORNING

CLOSE-UP on an arrow tip, nocked on a wooden bow. Cicadas chirp in the background.

CLINT BARTON (O.S.)

Okay, hold on. Don’t shoot.

Lila Barton is holding the bow with the arrow pulled back, aiming at something.

CLINT BARTON (CONT’D)

You see where you’re going?

LILA BARTON

Mhm.

CLINT BARTON

Okay. Now let’s worry about how you get there.

Clint comes up to Lila’s left side and starts adjusting her stance. He nudges her foot with his to widen her stance; noticeably, he has the house arrest anklet on.

CLINT BARTON (CONT’D)

Point your toe this way.

She lowers the bow, and he adjusts her shoulders gently too.

CLINT BARTON

Your hips here. Okay?

(beat)

Can you see?

LILA BARTON

Yeah.

CLINT BARTON

You sure?

LILA BARTON

Mhm.

Clint playfully puts Lila’s hair in front of her face.

CLINT BARTON

How ‘bout now? Can you see now? No.

Lila giggles, and Clint chuckles too and lets her hair go.

PULL BACK: they’re facing a target on a tree. In the background, the younger boys are playing catch with a baseball and gloves, and Laura Barton is at a picnic table making food.

CLINT BARTON (CONT’D)

Ready? Three fingers.

Over at the table, Laura smiles, watching them.

Nathaniel, the youngest, tosses a baseball to his older brother Cooper.

COOPER BARTON

Nice!

LAURA BARTON

Nice throw, kiddo!

Laura calls out to Clint and Lila.

LAURA BARTON (CONT ’D)

Hey, you guys want mayo or mustard or both?

LILA BARTON

(quietly, to Clint)

Who puts mayo on a hot dog?

CLINT BARTON

Probably your brothers.

(to Laura)

Uh, two mustard please! Thanks mama!

LAURA BARTON

Got it! Nate, mayo or mustard?

NATHANIEL BARTON

How ‘bout ketchup?

LAURA BARTON

Or ketchup. I got ketchup too.

Lila takes aim at the target again, pulling back on the bow.

CLINT BARTON

Mind your elbow ...

Lila lets the arrow fly, and it hits right in the bullseye.

CLINT BARTON

Good job, Hawkeye! 

(high-fives Lila)

Go get your arrow.

Lila walks towards the tree, off screen.

LAURA BARTON

Hey guys, enough practice! Soup’s on!

CLINT BARTON

Alright. We’re comin’, we’re hungry!

Clint turns around to talk to Lila, but suddenly, she’s nowhere to be seen. There’s only dust blowing gently in the wind.

CLINT BARTON (CONT’D)

Lila, let’s go.

(beat)

Lila? Honey?

Clint starts looking around for her, but–of course–she’s not there.

CLINT BARTON (CONT’D)

(to Laura)

Hey babe?

Clint looks towards where the boys and Laura were, but they’re gone too. The scene is eerily silent now–no cicadas to be heard.

Clint’s face shutters into spy mode; he realizes something is wrong. Thunder rumbles in the distance.

CLINT BARTON (CONT’D)

Babe?  Babe?!

Clint jogs forward and whistles, and the camera jogs with him. He gets to the table, but there’s no one to find.

CLINT BARTON (CONT’D)

Boys?  Boys! Laura?!

BLACK SCREEN

Thunder rumbles.

TITLE: MARVEL STUDIOS LOGO ANIMATION

MUSIC: the opening of “Dear Mr. Fantasy” b y Traffic.

INT. THE BENATAR - LOWER DECK

The music continues, but fades into the scene. Tony Stark and Nebula are sitting at the lower deck’s table across from each other. Nebula’s in her usual suit, and Tony is in the ratty remains of a hoodie with mussed hair. He looks a little skinnier.

CLOSE-UP on Tony’s hands: he’s balancing a triangular piece of metal in the shape of a paper football on the table. Nebula has her fingers angled in a “goal post” position on the table across from him, and he lines up the metal piece and flicks it towards her.

Nebula grunts and knocks it away in reaction, and Tony jumps.

TONY STARK

You don’t need to do that. Because, uh ...

(demonstrates with his fingers)

You’re just holding the position.

Nebula lines up a piece of her own and grunts again as she flicks it towards Tony. The piece misses his fingers.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

That was close.

Nebula grunts and tries again, and this time the piece successfully flicks between Tony’s fingers.

TONY STARK

That’s a goal. We are now one apiece.

NEBULA

(seriously)

I would like to try again.

TIME CUTS: 

Nebula tries and misses. Tony tries and misses too. Nebula tries again, and misses again.

TONY STARK

We’re tied up. Feel the tension? 

(waves between them)

It’s fun.

Nebula leans over the table and sets up a goal again. Tony flicks and misses.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

That was terrible. Now you have a chance to win.

Nebula flicks a shot, and it finally flies through Tony’s fingers again. A goal!

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

Aaaand you’ve won.

Nebula sits back almost in shock, like she can’t believe she won something and her opponent is admitting it.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

Congratulations, fair game. Good sport.

Tony offers a handshake. After only a slight hesitation, Nebula takes it and shakes his hand.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

You have fun?

Nebula thinks about it.

NEBULA

...It was fun.

INT. THE BENATAR - FLIGHT DECK - NIGHT

The flight deck is completely dark in a powerless Benatar, with only an eerie green glow from space lighting the scene.

A mangled Iron Man helmet sits on the floor of the deck.

Tony Stark’s arms enter the shot from the side, fingers dancing on the helmet. He holds it with one hand on each side lightly, reverently, and he clicks it on with a  beep . The helmet’s eyes flicker and glow to life.

PULL BACK: Tony is sitting in front of the helmet in a tank-top, looking way worse for wear. He’s got a scruffy beard, and he’s lost a lot of weight; his face is gaunt, muscles atrophied and collarbone prominent. He doesn’t have a lot of time left.

TONY STARK

(tapping the helmet)

This thing on?

The helmet scans him, and Tony leans back against the cockpit seats with a sigh. He talks towards the helmet as it begins to record him.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

Hey, Miss Potts. Pep. 

(beat)

If you find this recording, don’t post it on social media. It’s gonna be a real tearjerker. I don’t know if you’re ever gonna see these. I don’t even know if you’re still ...

(beat)

Oh, God, I hope so.

EXT. SPACE

The dark Benatar lists to the side in space, completely powerless.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

Today’s day... 21? No, uh, 22. You know, if it wasn’t for the existential terror of staring into the literal void of space, I’d say I’m feeling a little better today.

INT. THE BENATAR - GALLEY

FLASHBACK: Tony is lying on the floor, shirt rucked up, and Nebula is healing the massive wound on his stomach from where Thanos stabbed him. She’s holding a metal cylinder that’s emitting a blue light, pointed at the scarred and messy tissue.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

The infection’s run its course, thanks to the blue meanie back there.

Nebula concentrates, face serious as Tony looks on.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

Oh, you’d love her. Very practical. Only a tiny bit sadistic.

TIME CUT:

The floor of the Benatar is open to a mess of coils and machinery. Tony stands amongst it, welding pieces of fuel cells together, sparks flying. Nebula crouches behind him, working with tools and pieces.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

So the fuel cells were cracked during battle ... and we figured out a way to reverse the ion charge.

Nebula hurriedly hands a fuel piece to Tony, and he pushes it into place.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

Bought ourselves about 48 hours of flight time.

EXT. SPACE

From high overhead, we watch a tiny Benatar drift, fittingly shaped like a swallow.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

Uh, but it’s now dead in the water. A thousand light years from the nearest 7-eleven.

INT. THE BENATAR - GALLEY

FLASHBACK: Tony hands Nebula the last little bit of their bagged rations. Nebula just looks at him, and gently pushes the bag back towards him. He needs it more than she does.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

Oxygen will run out tomorrow morning ... and that’ll be it.

As Nebula watches, Tony shrugs and tips the last of the rations out of the bag into his mouth.

EXT. SPACE - BENATAR - FLIGHT DECK

FLASHBACK: Tony leans against the edge of the glass inside the dark flight deck, looking out into the unknown of space.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

Pep, I know I said no more surprises ... but I gotta say I was really hoping to pull off one last one. But it looks like ...

(beat)

Well, you know what it looks like.

INT. THE BENATAR - FLIGHT DECK - NIGHT

Back to now. Tony has his head in his hands, dejected and exhausted.

TONY STARK

Don’t feel bad about this. I mean, actually, if you grovel for a couple weeks ... and then move on with enormous guilt ...

(long pause)

I should probably lie down for a minute, go rest my eyes.

Tony sighs and lifts his gaze to look at the helmet one last time–and, in his mind, at Pepper.

TONY STARK

Please know ... when I drift off, it’ll be like every night lately. I’m fine, totally fine.

(taps helmet)

I dream about you.

(whispering )

Because it’s always you.

He reaches forward to switch the helmet off, hands lingering.

Groaning softly, Tony struggles into his jacket. His movements are sluggish; this is taking all the energy he has.

Slowly, he lies down onto his side right there on the floor, head pillowed on his arm.

FADE TO:

Sometime later as Tony lies there, Nebula walks up to him. Gently, she turns him over, checking to make sure he’s still alive.

TIME CUT:

Carefully, Nebula places Tony’s ailing body into one of the cockpit’s seats, so he’s sitting up and facing out the window with dignity. He’s so exhausted he barely stirs, eyes still closed.

Nebula looks down at him, and it’s clear that she’s sad in her own way; she cares about this man who showed her kindness. Her hand lingers on his shoulder before she slips away, quietly giving him his peace.

CLOSE-UP on Tony’s face as he sits in silence, eyes closed and waiting for his last moments. His face is tinged with the green light of nearby galaxies outside the cockpit window.

But gradually... that green light warms and turns brighter, and brighter, until he’s fluttering his eyes open and raising his hand to block the unavoidable glow.

Tony blinks, disoriented, but slowly his bloodshot eyes focus on what’s outside the window. It’s a blindingly-bright orange glow, hovering right outside the glass, and it slowly dims to reveal–

Captain Marvel, smiling as she looks at Tony.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - BATHROOM - NIGHT

A hand holding a razor rinses it off under a faucet.

Steve Rogers, in a white tank-top, is standing at a sink in a bathroom with backlit mirrors. There’s bits of shaving cream on his jaw because he’s just finished shaving off his beard.

Steve stares at himself in the mirror as he finishes up. The focus is on him as he inspects his jaw and meets his own eyes in the mirror. Then, Steve looks past his own face to the reflection of the doorway as someone walks in.

IN MIRROR: focus on Natasha Romanoff’s reflection, standing behind him.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Haven’t seen that jawline in awhile.

Steve sighs as he pats his face with a towel. He turns around to face her, leaning back heavily against the counter.

STEVE ROGERS

Neither has the public.

Natasha smiles ruefully in understanding. Steve is bringing the “Captain America” face back, for a public that's desperate for hope.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Think they’re gonna need it?

STEVE ROGERS

I think they’re gonna need everything we can give.

Suddenly, the razor on the counter and the room at large starts shaking a little, a faint roaring sound overhead. Steve and Natasha both look around and at the ceiling, and then they exchange wide-eyed looks of tentative hope.

EXT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - NIGHT

The Benatar makes a slow descent towards Earth, propelled by a tiny, glowing Captain Marvel.

On the ground, Natasha, Steve, Bruce Banner, James Rhodes, and Rocket run outside to stare upwards.

Carefully, Carol lands with the ship so it rests safely on the ground.

CUT TO:

Nebula helps a weak Tony move down the steps of the Benatar’s ramp. Steve runs up immediately, taking over from Nebula and helping him walk.

Tony breathes heavily but leans into Steve gratefully as they stumble along.

TONY STARK

I couldn’t stop him.

STEVE ROGERS

Neither could I.

Tony stops walking abruptly and turns to Steve, distraught.

TONY STARK

I lost the kid.

He says it like he has to, like it’s a confession. It’s the first time he’s said it out loud.

STEVE ROGERS

I...

Steve swallows, debating whether or not to confess his grief in kind. Tony searches his face, and he comes to a realization.

TONY STARK

Is Barnes...

STEVE ROGERS

Yeah.

Pause. As Tony absorbs that, Steve looks uncomfortable. There’s a lot of ways this conversation could go.

STEVE ROGERS

Look, Tony ...

Tony takes a deep breath.

TONY STARK

I’m sorry.

Steve understands the full meaning, and his face crumples. Tony’s sorry for Steve’s loss, but he’s also sorry in general, for everything that happened.

STEVE ROGERS

(softly)

So am I.

After the end of the universe, apologies come easier.

They look at each other for a moment longer, and then Pepper Potts runs up. Immediately, Tony gasps a little and sways towards her.

PEPPER POTTS

(tearfully)

Oh, my God–

Pepper and Tony clutch at each other, grateful. Tony pulls back and kisses Pepper’s temple, reassuring her.

TONY STARK

(whispering)

It’s okay.

On each side of Tony now, Pepper and Steve help him move forward.

CUT TO:

Nebula is sitting on the steps of the ramp, hunched in on herself. Rocket walks up to her slowly.

ROCKET

Nebula?

Nebula looks up at him, but she quickly looks away again, miserable.

NEBULA

I couldn’t save them. I’m sorry.

She’s answering the question she knows he’ll ask, but there’s a lot she isn’t saying. Rocket’s eyes fill with tears, but he just climbs up on the steps to sit beside her and leans into her shoulder.

ROCKET

I thought I was alone.

NEBULA

Me too.

Rocket puts his paw on top of Nebula’s hand. Nebula stiffens, but after a moment she turns her hand to hold his paw and leans into him. They huddle together, in shared grief.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - COMMON ROOM - DAY

Carol and Steve watch as holo-displays cycle through pictures of the missing/vanished.

JAMES RHODES (O.S.)

It’s been 23 days since Thanos came to Earth.

The displays show pictures and names:  Stephen Strange, James Barnes, Erik Selvig, Samuel Wilson...

NATASHA ROMANOFF (O.S.)

World governments are in pieces. 

Hope van Dyne, Wanda Maximoff, Henry Pym, Scott Lang...

NATASHA ROMANOFF (CONT’D, O.S.)

The parts that are still working are trying to take a census.

Peter Parker.  Tony watches, upset. He’s connected to an IV, looking frail and devastatingly thin in an open robe. His ribs are visible, and he has scruff on his face, unkempt overall. He looks away from the display screens as they continue to cycle through more people:  Shuri, T’Challa...

NATASHA ROMANOFF (CONT’D, O.S.)

And it looks like he did... exactly what he said he was going to do. 

Carol watches as Nick Fury’s name and picture comes on the screen.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Thanos wiped out fifty percent of all living creatures.

A heavy pause on everyone. A quietly devastated Thor is sitting alone on a bench, to the side.

TONY STARK

Where is he now? Where?

STEVE ROGERS

We don't know. He just opened a portal and walked through.

Tony makes a frustrated sound, and then glances over. He points at Thor.

TONY STARK

What's wrong with him?

Thor is seemingly deep in thought, wringing his hands and ignoring them all.

ROCKET

He's pissed. He thinks he failed. 

Tony stares at Rocket.

ROCKET (CONT’D)

Which, of course he did. But there's a lot of that goin' around, ain't there?

TONY STARK

Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear.

ROCKET

Maybe I am.

STEVE ROGERS

We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now. Deep space scans, satellites, and we got nothing.

(beat)

Tony, you fought him...

TONY STARK

Who told you that? I didn't fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street Magician gave away the stone. 

STEVE ROGERS

(humoring him)

Okay.

TONY STARK

That's what happened. There was no  fight .

STEVE ROGERS

Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?

Tony makes a “pffftt” sound. He’s slowly becoming unhinged. We see Steve and Natasha’s reactions: slightly exasperated, but unsurprised. Tony’s not okay.

TONY STARK

I saw this coming, a few years back. Had a vision. Didn't wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming.

STEVE ROGERS

Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus.

TONY STARK

And I needed  you . As in past tense. That trumps what you need. 

Steve’s face is both frustrated and sad, all at once.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

It's too late buddy. Sorry. You know what I need?

Tony stands up unsteadily, causing things on the table to clatter, and everyone flinches.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

I need to shave. And I believe I remember telling  you –

Tony goes to rip off his IV as he talks, and Rhodey speaks over him.

JAMES RHODES

Tony, Tony... Tony, stop!

TONY STARK

–that what  we needed was a suit of armor around the world! Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedom or not,  that's what we needed!

STEVE ROGERS

Well, that didn't work out, did it?

TONY STARK

I said, "We'll lose.” You said, "We'll do that together too." And guess what, Cap? We lost. You weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? 

Tony’s becoming more unsteady on his feet, and Rhodey moves to hold him up.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

We're the Avengers? We're the  A- vengers. Not the  PRE - vengers, right?

JAMES RHODES

Okay–

TONY STARK

Right?

JAMES RHODES

You made your point. Just sit down, okay?

TONY STARK

No, no, no.

(struggling  against Rhodey )

Here’s my point.

JAMES RHODES

Just ... Sit down!

Tony waves to Carol.

TONY STARK

She's great, by the way. 

(to Carol)

We need you. You're new blood. 

JAMES RHODES

Tony!

Tony breaks away from Rhodey and stumbles towards Steve, right into his face. He’s fully unhinged, every bit of hurt coming out to play now.

TONY STARK

(bitingly)

Bunch of tired old mills! I got nothing for you, Cap! I got no coordinates, no clues, no plan, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust.  Liar .

Steve is visibly affected by Tony’s words, looking at him with hurt, but he doesn’t move. He has something to say back.

STEVE ROGERS

(quietly)

Tony, I gave you a phone in case you needed me. When Bruce called, I answered.

Tony recoils with an unbalanced twitch. He turns away slightly, breathing raggedly, and there’s a complex play of emotions on his face; the anger disappears to show fear and sadness, for just a moment, eyes closed.

This is something he doesn’t want to think about or face: the idea that for all his yelling at Steve, it’s partially projection. Tony feels guilt just as much as anyone else, and he’s lashing out to avoid thinking about it. Steve’s well aware of that, too.

STEVE ROGERS

Tony–

Tony grits his teeth and turns back around.  He rips his nanotech Arc Reactor off of his chest, and grabs Steve’s hand to slap it into his palm, shaking.

TONY STARK

(breathing hard)

Here, take this. You find him, and you put that on. You  hide .

Abruptly,  Tony’s legs fold under him and he collapses to the ground. Everyone makes aborted motions forward to help.

JAMES RHODES

Tony!

TONY STARK

(gasping)

I'm fine. I ...

Tony passes out on the floor.

Boom.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - CORRIDOR - DAY

The team looks through glass doors at Tony unconscious on a bed, with Pepper and Rhodey by his side. Rhodey and Pepper exchange a sad look as Rhodey steps out to join everyone else, shoulders heavy.

JAMES RHODES

Bruce gave him a sedative. He's gonna be out for the rest of the day.

Steve ducks his head in acknowledgement, tired and sad.

CAROL DANVERS

(arms folded)

You guys take care of him, and I'll bring Xorrian Elixir when I come back.

Carol strides off purposefully.

STEVE ROGERS

Where are you going?

CAROL DANVERS

(still walking)

To kill Thanos.

Natasha and Steve exchange alarmed glances.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Hey.

Carol turns back around, unimpressed.

NATASHA ROMANOFF (CONT’D)

You know, we usually work as a team around here, and between you and I, morale is a little fragile.

STEVE ROGERS

We realize “out there” is more of your territory, but this is our fight too.

JAMES RHODES

You even know where he is?

CAROL DANVERS

I know people who might.

NEBULA (O.S.)

Don’t bother.

Carol turns around to see Nebula in the common room doorway behind her. 

NEBULA (CONT’D)

I can tell you where Thanos is.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - COMMON ROOM - DAY

Nebula stands near a window, looking into the distance as she speaks.

NEBULA

Thanos spent a long time trying to perfect me. Then when he worked, he talked about his great plan. Even disassembled, I wanted to please him. I'd ask, "Where would we go once this plan was complete?" And his answer was always the same.

She walks over to a table with a holographic device and leans over it. Rocket stands on the table by her side.

NEBULA (CONT’D)

To the Garden.

The other Avengers look on, including Bruce and Thor now. Bruce is in the back of the room, and Thor is sitting at a nearby table.

JAMES RHODES

( folding his arms )

That's cute. Thanos has a retirement plan.

STEVE ROGERS

So where is he?

Rocket activates the holo-display, showing Earth.

ROCKET

When Thanos snapped his fingers, Earth became ground zero for a power surge of ridiculously cosmic proportions. No one's ever seen anything like it.

The holo-display demonstrates the power surge he’s talking about.

ROCKET (CONT’D)

Until two days ago, on  this planet.

The holo changes to a different planet, with a visible shockwave emanating from it.

NEBULA

Thanos is there.

Natasha leans forward to look at it intently.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

He used the stones again.

Bruce steps forward from the back of the room.

BRUCE BANNER

Hey hey hey, we'd be going in short-handed, you know?

JAMES RHODES

Look, he's still got the stones, so ...

CAROL DANVERS

So let's get him. We'll use them to bring everyone back.

JAMES RHODES

(skeptical)

Just like that?

STEVE ROGERS

Yeah. Just like that.

Steve looks up at Carol and she nods at him. They understand each other.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Even if there's a small chance that we can undo this... I mean, we owe it to everyone who's not in this room to try.

BRUCE BANNER

If we do this, how do we know it's gonna end any differently than it did before?

CAROL DANVERS

Because before, you didn't have me.

JAMES RHODES

Hey, new girl, everyone here is about that superhero life. And if you don't mind my askin’, where the hell have you been all this time?

CAROL DANGERS

There are a lot of other planets in the universe. And unfortunately, they didn't have you guys.

Rhodey and Steve exchange glances. That’s fair; she has a point.

Thor stands up from the table where he’s been watching, and he walks over to Carol to evaluate her. He holds his hand up to call Stormbreaker to him, and the weapon flies past Carol, missing her ear by inches and ruffling her hair.

Carol doesn't even flinch, and stares him down with narrowed eyes. Then she smiles at him a little–almost invitingly, in challenge.

THOR

(decisively)

I like this one.

Carol’s smile widens.

STEVE ROGERS

(looking at the planet)

Let's go get this son of a bitch.

BLACK SCREEN

TITLE: “AVENGERS: ENDGAME”

EXT. SKY

The Benatar takes off.

EXT. EARTH’S ORBIT

Through the cockpit window, we see the team is assembled on the flight deck. Bruce and Nebula are in the seats on the lower level, Rocket and Carol are copiloting up top, and behind them are Natasha, Steve, Rhodey, and Thor.

INT. THE BENATAR - FLIGHT DECK - DAWN

ROCKET

Okay ... who here hasn't been to space?

Natasha, Steve, and Rhodey raise their hands as everyone looks around at each other. Carol’s amused.

JAMES RHODES

Why?

ROCKET

You better not throw up on my ship.

NEBULA

Approaching jump in  three ... two...

Steve grips the seat’s armrest for dear life. Natasha braces herself.

NEBULA (CONT’D)

One!

Outside the windshield: they’re warping at lightspeed! 

CLOSE-UP on Steve’s wide eye, reflecting the beautiful colors of space.

EXT. SPACE

The Benatar warps through space via a couple of jump points, and emerges from one jump to slow down gently in front of the planet seen on the holo-display earlier. 

Carol, all aglow, flies up to hover in front of the Benatar’s windshield.

CAROL (OVER COM)

I’ll head down for a recon.

She jets off in a beautiful burst of light, down towards the planet’s surface.

INT. THE BENATAR - LOWER DECK

Natasha and Steve stand next to each other, tense. Natasha is using a tablet, and Steve is staring down at something in his hands. She glances up, and looks between what he’s holding and his face.

CLOSE-UP on Steve’s hand. He’s tracing dog tags with his thumb, and we can just barely see that they’re labeled “JAMES B BARNES” and “SAMUEL WILSON.”

Natasha studies him.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

This is gonna work, Steve.

STEVE ROGERS

I know it will.

(looks at her)

Because I don’t know what I’m gonna do if it doesn’t.

INT. THE BENATAR - FLIGHT DECK

Outside the glass, Carol approaches the Benatar and hovers in front of it again.

CAROL DANVERS (OVER COM)

(confused)

No satellites, no ships, no armies ... no ground defenses of any kind. It's just him.

NEBULA

Then that’s enough.

EXT. THE GARDEN - THANOS' HUT - DAY

Establishing shots of the scenery of the planet. It’s a beautiful oasis, teaming with greenery and life. Amongst it all: a small lodging, with smoke coming from the chimney.

EXT. THE GARDEN - FIELD - DAY

Thanos’ armor hovers in the air, retired like a hollow scarecrow.

CLOSE-UP on the gauntlet on Thanos’ hand as he walks slowly through a field of flowers and fruit. The gauntlet is deformed and charred, molded to his hand. His arm slowly reaches down and pulls a piece of fruit off a plant, and he places it in a full sack by his feet that he then picks up.

We continue to not see his face or much of his body as he sighs, and limps up the wooden stairs to his hut.

INT. THANOS' HUT - DAY

There’s a small fireplace in Thanos’ hut, and he’s standing by a table in the background. It’s clear that Thanos is no longer as strong and formidable as he was; using the stones has weakened him.

He puts spice in a pot that he then carries over to the fire, and as he sits heavily, we finally see him in the light: his left arm is charred and blackened, mostly dead weight, and the charred marks/scars go all the way up to the left side of his face.

Thanos glances up, hearing something... just in time for a beam of energy to CRASH into the hut’s roof!

He puts his arm up and yells but goes down easily. The light is Carol! She’s glowing with energy as she rolls up from the ground and climbs up onto his neck, one foot holding the Gauntlet open.

The Hulkbuster armor BURSTS out of the ground and grabs the Gauntlet arm–

War Machine flies in and grabs the other arm–

and Thor flies in next and SLICES Thanos’ Gauntlet arm off!

Thanos yells in pain and anger. Steve and Natasha stride into the hut as Thanos is held down, grunting and struggling.

CUT TO:

The Gauntlet, on the ground at Rocket’s feet. He rolls it over, and–

The stones are gone.

ROCKET

No ...

Steve and Natasha stare down at the Gauntlet too and exchange glances in dawning fear.

STEVE ROGERS

(to Thanos)

Where are they?

Carol tightens her grip on Thanos’ neck.

CAROL DANVERS

Answer the question.

THANOS

(panting)

The universe... required correction. After that, the stones served no purpose... beyond temptation.

Bruce yells inside the Hulkbuster:

BRUCE BANNER

You murdered trillions!

The Hulkbuster armor slams Thanos to the ground.

THANOS

You should be grateful!

The Hulkbuster armor kicks him.

NATASHA

(shaking)

Where... are the stones?

THANOS

Gone. Reduced to atoms.

BRUCE BANNER

You used them  two days ago !

Thanos grits out his response.

THANOS

I used them... to destroy them.

Shots of the others’ faces. They’re beginning to understand.

THANOS (CONT’D)

It nearly ... killed me. But the work is done. It always will be. I am... inevitable.

JAMES RHODES

We have to tear this place apart. He ... he has to be lying.

NEBULA

My father is many things. A liar has never been one of them.

THANOS

(smiling slightly)

Ah... thank you, daughter. Perhaps I treated you too harshly.

Thor yells in rage and swings Stormbreaker with startling suddenness, decapitating Thanos, and the body falls to the floor.

Nebula slowly touches her own cheek with a shaking hand, where gore was splattered.

ROCKET

What ... what did you do?

THOR

(choked up)

I ... went for the head.

Everyone stares down at Thanos’ body with various levels of dawning devastation. Steve’s head is bowed; Natasha’s tearing up. Nebula kneels near Thanos’ head, staring at it with complex emotions, and reaches out to close his eyes.

Thor is the first to walk out, his stride stumbling and aimless. Eventually, everyone else follows him one-by-one, obviously mired in grief and hopelessness as the music swells.

After everyone is gone, our view moves across the hut as the music slowly fades into silence, and the camera keeps moving. With a slight whisper of sound, we go under and into a hiding place, and to the shock the audience...

The soul stone–unbeknownst to the remaining living team members–glimmers where it’s hidden in low light. It’s the only remaining stone.

The audience desperately wants our heroes to turn back around, but there’s nothing for it. They’re gone, with no reason to doubt Thanos’ words, sloppy in their grief.

FADE TO BLACK

TITLE: FIVE YEARS LATER

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (Some soul stone thoughts:
> 
> "They could've just found the soul stone immediately and brought everyone back," you say?  
> Well firstly, if we did that, it wouldn't be a movie. But secondly: it wouldn't have fixed everything. At this point it's been nearly a month since the snap; the world is already in chaos and people have died; etc. etc. it ain't that simple.
> 
> Also, Thanos' motives for having kept it and lied about it will be addressed.
> 
> Roll with me)


	2. Five Years Later

EXT. NEW YORK CITY - AERIALS - DUSK

New York City from the water, looking dark and nearly abandoned; Liberty Island, with boats chaotically abandoned all over the harbor and Lady Liberty as the only light to be seen; and a dark baseball stadium, with abandoned cars strewn in the parking lot like toys.

MAN #1 (V.O.)

So I, uh ...

INT. BROOKLYN COMMUNITY CENTER

CLOSE-UP on a poster of a single figure staring at a group of shadows. It reads “WHERE DO WE GO, NOW THAT THEY'RE GONE?”

MAN #1 (CONT’D, O.S.)

...Went on a date the other day.

Chairs are stacked on tables; between them, at the end of the row, sits the man who’s speaking. He’s a young Asian man, probably in his early 30s, but he looks tired–older than his years. Steve Rogers sits next to him.

They’re part of a small circle of chairs, and it’s clear that this is a therapy group.

MAN #1 (CONT’D)

First time in five years, you know? Sitting there at dinner ... I didn’t even know what to talk about.

Pan across Steve and others, landing on the group leader. She’s a Black woman with braids, looking at the man sympathetically.

GROUP LEADER

What  did you talk about?

Everyone else looks on sympathetically as the man answers.

MAN #1 (O.S.)

Same old crap, you know? How things have changed, and ... my job, his job ... How much we miss the Mets. Then things got quiet . He cried as they were serving the salads.

MAN #2

What about you?

MAN #1

I cried ... just before dessert.

(beat)

But I’m seeing him again tomorrow, so.

GROUP LEADER

That’s great. You did the hardest part. You took the jump, you didn’t know where you were gonna come down. And that’s it. Those little brave baby steps are what you have to do to try to become whole again. To try to find purpose.

There is silence for a moment as everyone somberly internalizes that. Steve has his arms folded and is looking down.

GROUP LEADER

Steve? You haven’t spoken in awhile. Anything to add?

STEVE ROGERS

(smiling bitterly)

Not much to report, no. Haven’t gone on any dates.

GROUP LEADER

(gently)

What have you done recently, to try to move on? It can be anything, it doesn’t matter how small–

STEVE ROGERS

Nothing, I’m not–

(beat)

Look. Every time I’ve tried to move on since coming out of the ice, it feels like something’s happened to knock me back down again. I thought ... well. I’d thought things were finally getting better. Made some new friends, got old ones back, got back into the world... Found some peace. Now it might as well all be gone again. At this point, I’m just trying to make it one day at a time.

GROUP LEADER

That’s a start. There’s no shame in that. But you’ve got ...

(beat)

We’ve  all got to move on.  The world is in our hands. It’s left to us, and we have to do something with it. Otherwise ... Thanos should’ve just killed all of us.

Pan around the group. Steve’s face makes it clear that would’ve almost been preferred, for him.

GROUP LEADER (CONT’D)

We can’t go backwards. Forwards is all we have left.

EXT. STORAGE WAREHOUSE - DAY

TITLE: SAN FRANCISCO

Establishing shot.  A sign says  “ U-STORE-It - Self Storage. ”

INT. STORAGE WAREHOUSE - CHECK-IN OFFICE

A short person in a hoodie stands in a cramped office front of a desk, their face hidden by the hood. A warehouse worker hands over a clipboard to them.

WAREHOUSE WORKER

Sign here.

The person signs, and exchanges the clipboard for keys.

INT. STORAGE WAREHOUSE - GARAGE

The person walks through a huge garage-like place, and fluorescent lights dramatically turn on one by one. The space is filled with all kinds of junk–and most of it is vehicles.

TIME CUT:

The person stands in front of the back of a van. It’s Luis’ van, looking a bit worse for wear than the last time we saw it.

The person clicks the key fob, and yanks open the back doors. Inside, over their shoulders, we see Hank Pym’s quantum tunnel.

Pan down as the person reaches into their pocket, pulling out a phone.

CLOSE-UP on the phone’s screen, showing an old screenshot of a text. It’s a text from Scott Lang, with a selfie of him goofily standing in front of the half-finished quantum tunnel, when he and Hope were working on building it. Thumbs up.

Pan up to reveal the face of the person: a teenage Cassie Lang, who’s holding the phone, smiling down at it sadly.

TIME CUT:

Cassie shoves her way into the driver’s seat, barely fitting. All of the old equipment is wedged in there, in between the dashboard and the quantum tunnel in the back.

EXT. WAREHOUSE EXIT - DAY

Cassie drives the van out of the warehouse gates and down the dreary, gross streets. She drives past garbage-lined roads, and poorly-kept areas, including in neighborhoods. This is our introduction to the dystopia this world has become.

EXT. MAGGIE LANG’S HOUSE - DAY

Cassie pulls the van up to her home, and parks it in the driveway. The home is overrun with unkempt plants. Cassie climbs out of the van and starts rummaging through all the junk crammed into it.

TIME-CUTS: She’s dragging stuff out to put it all on the ground curiously, and turning smaller bits she encounters over in her hands. She yanks on a big piece and makes a face, realizing a lot of wires are still connected to the van or tunnel itself. Then she pulls out a smaller piece, and it’s the lever that Hope had pushed in the end credit scene, when Scott was sent into the quantum realm.

Cassie notices a light’s blinking on it. That’s weird. She squints and pushes the lever down nonchalantly, not really expecting anything to happen–and she shrieks and drops it when the van lights up and shakes, then shuts down abruptly.

A groan comes from the ground behind the van; it’s Scott in the suit! Cassie scrambles over to him.

CASSIE LANG

DAD?! Oh my God–

Scott retracts the suit’s helmet.

SCOTT LANG

Ow, Jesus, what the ... who ...

(staring in shock)

Cassie?!

Cassie reaches down to help him up, crying.

CASSIE LANG

Yeah. Yeah, it’s me. Oh God, I never thought... I just wanted to find the equipment...

SCOTT LANG

You’re so ... You’re so  big , what ...

(looks around)

What happened?

CASSIE LANG

You were trapped in there for five years. And everyone else ... everyone else is gone. It’s just me. The world kind of ended, Dad.

SCOTT LANG

Five  years ... What... Wait wait wait, what do you mean everyone’s gone?

EXT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - PROPERTY LINE - SUNSET

The Avengers Compound stands amidst overgrown grass. A faded sign on a metal fence says “RESTRICTED AREA, DO NOT ENTER.”

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - COMMON ROOM - NIGHT

Natasha is cutting a PB&J sandwich into triangles. She looks tired, and her hair is longer and red again now, except for the blonde streaks left at the bottom tips.

ROCKET (O.S.)

Yeah, we boarded that highly suspect warship that Danvers pinged.

Natasha is on a holographic conference call with multiple Avengers. From left to right, the holo-screens include Nebula, Rocket, Okoye, Carol Danvers with a short haircut now, and Rhodey.

NEBULA

It was an infectious garbage scow.

ROCKET

(to Carol)

So thanks for the hot tip.

CAROL DANVERS

Well, you  were closer.

ROCKET

Yeah, and now we smell like garbage.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(to Okoye)

You get a reading on those tremors?

OKOYE

It was a mild subduction under the African plate.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Do we have a visual? How are we handling it?

OKOYE

Nat ... it was an earthquake in the ocean. We handle it by  not handling it.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Carol, are we seeing you here next month?

CAROL DANVERS

Not likely.

ROCKET

What, you gonna get another haircut?

CAROL DANVERS

(irritated)

Listen fur face, I’m covering a lot of territory. The things that are happening on Earth are happening everywhere, on thousands of planets.

ROCKET

(mumbling)

Yeah alright, that’s a good point, that’s a good point ...

CAROL DANVERS

(apologetically, to Nat)

So you might not see me for a long time.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Alright. Uh, well ... This channel’s always active. So, if anything goes sideways ... anyone’s making trouble where they shouldn’t ... it comes through me.

ROCKET

Okay.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Alright.

CAROL DANVERS

(to Rhodey)

Good luck.

Nebula, Rocket, Okoye, and Carol shimmer out as they end their calls. Natasha sighs and sits down heavily, exhausted. Rhodey’s call is still active.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Where are you?

JAMES RHODES

Still in Hungary.

Natasha sits up at that.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Have you heard anything?

JAMES RHODES

Nothing. Wherever Barton is right now, it’s off the grid.

Natasha blows out a frustrated breath, worried.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

His cover must’ve been blown. It’s not like him to not check in like this.

JAMES RHODES

If he’s this quiet, he must be lying low to stay off the Russians’ radar. I’m sure he’s safe.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

He’d better be. I’m the one who sent him out there.

JAMES RHODES

Barton’s good. Try not to worry.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

It’s my  job to worry, James.

(beat)

Can you just ... try to find another lead? Let me know what you hear?

JAMES RHODES

Nat ...

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Please.

JAMES RHODES

(sighs)

Okay.

They hang up, and Natasha is alone and trying not to cry. She’s overwhelmed by the weight of this job, and the loneliness it brings–and worrying about Clint isn’t helping. She takes a bite from the sandwich, and fiddles with the arrow necklace around her neck.

STEVE ROGERS (O.S.)

You know, I’d offer to cook you dinner, but you seem pretty miserable already.

Steve's leaning against the doorway.  Natasha wipes at her eyes and tries to smile, pretending she wasn’t just near tears.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m clearly fine.

Steve walks over and tosses his jacket and keys on the table, then sits down heavily. Natatsha moves her uneaten sandwich to the side and slides down in her chair, putting her feet on the table.

STEVE ROGERS

Absolutely. The same way we’re all fine, and not overwhelmed  at all ...

Natasha snorts. She’s not going to even touch that comment, instead deftly turning the conversation to him.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

How’d it go today?

Steve shrugs.

STEVE ROGERS

I think Sam would kick my ass if he knew how little I’m trying, but at least I’m going.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

That bad, huh? The bar is low, Rogers.

Steve quirks a half smile, but sobers quickly.

STEVE ROGERS

They keep saying everyone should move on and ... grow.  Some do. But not us.

A pause. Natasha swallows roughly, and meets him in the middle:

NATASHA ROMANOFF

I keep thinking...  if I move on, who does this? Fury’s gone, Hill’s gone...

STEVE ROGERS

(sighs)

Yeah.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(choked up)

I used to have nothing. Then I got this. This job ... this family. And I was ... I was better because of it. And even though they’re gone ... I’m still trying to be better.

STEVE ROGERS

You are.

Natasha smiles and ducks her head, wiping away a tear on her cheek.

Silence for another moment. And then,

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D)

I keep feeling like I want to “avenge” them all, you know? I see them in my dreams, sometimes. Bucky, Sam ... Wanda too. Feels like I’m being haunted. It’s hard to accept that there’s nothing we can do.

A holo-display pops up in front of Natasha, and she swipes to open it on the side of the room. Steve turns to look. 

It’s camera footage of the front gate: Scott Lang, with his Quantum Van behind him as he yells and waves to the camera.

SCOTT LANG

Uh ... oh, hi! Hi! Is anyone home? This is Scott Lang. We met a few years ago, at the airport, in Germany?

Natasha and Steve stand up to stare at the message in shock.

SCOTT LANG (CONT’D, O.S.)

I was the guy that got really big, and I had my mask on. You wouldn’t recognize me.

STEVE ROGERS

Is this an old message?

SCOTT LANG (O.S.)

Ant-Man? I know ... I know you know that.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

It’s the front gate.

SCOTT LANG (O.S.)

I need to talk to you guys!

TIME CUT:

Scott’s in the room and pacing, manic and whispering unintelligibly to himself.

STEVE ROGERS (O.S.)

Scott.

Scott looks up at Steve.

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D)

(concerned)

Are you okay?

SCOTT LANG

Yeah.

(rubs hands down his face)

Have either of you guys ever studied quantum physics?

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Only to make conversation.

SCOTT LANG

Alright. So... five years ago, right before Thanos, I was in a place called the Quantum Realm. The Quantum Realm is like its own microscopic universe. To get in there, you have to be incredibly small. Hope, she's my... She was my ...

(beat)

She was supposed to pull me out. And then Thanos happened, and I got stuck in there.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

I'm sorry. That must've been a very long five years.

SCOTT LANG

Yeah, but that's just it. For me, it was five  hours . See, the rules of the Quantum Realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable. Is that anybody's sandwich? I'm starving.

Scott strides over to snatch up Natasha’s sandwich and take a bite out of it.

STEVE ROGERS

Scott, what are you talking about?

SCOTT LANG

(mouth full)

So, what I'm saying is ... time works differently in the Quantum Realm. The only problem is right now, we don't have a way to navigate it. But what if we did? I can't stop thinking about it. 

Steve and Natasha exchange glances.

SCOTT LANG (CONT’D)

What if we could somehow control the chaos, and we could navigate it? What if there was a way to enter the Quantum Realm at a certain point in time but then exit at another point in time? Like... Like before Thanos.

STEVE ROGERS

Wait, are you talking about a time machine?

SCOTT LANG

No. No, of course not. No, not a time machine. It's more like a ...

(beat)

Yeah, a time machine. I know, it's crazy. It’s crazy! But I can't stop thinking about it. There's gotta be some way... No, it's crazy.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Scott, I get emails from a raccoon. So, nothing sounds crazy anymore.

SCOTT LANG

So who do we talk to about this?

EXT. STARK CABIN - BACKYARD - DAY

A beautiful two-story cabin with a wraparound porch sits in the woods, near a lake. Tony walks out of the cabin and down the porch stairs, strolling through the backyard, giving us a good look at the area and a glimpse of the backyard’s chairs and picnic table.

Tony approaches a small tent on the ground.

TONY STARK

Chow time!

He sits on a tiny kid-sized chair outside of the small tent.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

Maguna...

(beat)

Morgan H. Stark. Want some lunch?

A small girl about 4 years old emerges from the tent wearing a red and gold Iron Man helmet.  She holds up a hand with a red glove on it that has a white circle on the palm, looking like a soft repulsor gauntlet that she points at Tony.

MORGAN STARK

Define lunch or be disintegrated.

TONY STARK

You should  not be wearing that, okay? C’mon. You know how your mom gets heated about things.

Tony kisses the helmet’s cheek and takes it off her head.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

Even if it’s made for you, we’re supposed to be watching when you play with it. Okay?

MORGAN STARK

(smiling mischievously)

Okay.

Tony peers into the helmet playfully.

TONY STARK

Is this thing on? Trick question, of course it’s on. You need to see.

He flips a switch on the bottom and the lights on the helmet go dark.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

There you go. Are you thinking about lunch? I can give you a handful of crickets, on a bed of lettuce.

MORGAN STARK

No.

TONY STARK

That’s what you want. Where did you find this?

MORGAN STARK

Garage.

TONY STARK

I thought so. Were you looking for it?

MORGAN STARK

No! I found it though.

TONY STARK

Hmm. You like going in the garage, huh? So does Daddy.

Tony picks her up and stands.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

It’s fine, actually.  But don’t tell your mom I said that.

Tony walks towards the house, carrying Morgan still, and he notices a black Audi in the driveway. Steve, Natasha, and Scott emerge from it.

Tony assesses them for a moment and sees their body language; this isn’t a normal casual visit, and he can tell. His guard is up already.

MORGAN STARK

Auntie Nat! Uncle Steve!

Morgan wiggles in Tony’s hold and he lets her down.

TONY STARK

Alright, go say hi.

Morgan runs up to Natasha and hugs her legs, and Natasha bends down to pick her up.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Hey, cutie.

Morgan holds a hand out to Steve and he reaches over to give her a high-five.

TONY STARK

(voice upbeat, but studying them)

Did I get my days messed up? Is it that time already?

STEVE ROGERS

No, this was sort of a ... last minute visit.

Morgan looks at Scott over Natasha’s shoulder.

MORGAN STARK

Who are you?

TONY STARK

You know, I was about to ask the  exact same thing.

Scott rolls his eyes. Tony remembers him; he’s just being an ass.

SCOTT LANG

(deadpan)

Haha.

EXT. STARK CABIN - PORCH - DAY

Tony pours drinks into tumbler glasses for the surprise guests.

SCOTT LANG

Now, we know what it sounds like–

STEVE ROGERS

Tony, after everything you’ve seen, is anything really impossible?

TONY STARK

Quantum fluctuation messes with the Planck scale, which then triggers the Deutsch proposition. Can we agree on that?

Tony hands a glass to Steve.

STEVE ROGERS

Thank you.

TONY STARK

In layman’s terms, it means you’re not coming home.

SCOTT LANG

I did.

TONY STARK

No, you accidentally  survived . It’s a billion-to-one cosmic fluke.

(hands a drink to Scott)

And now you wanna pull off a ... Whattaya call it?

SCOTT LANG

(kind of proud)

A ... time heist?

TONY STARK

Yeah, a time heist. Of course, why didn’t we think of this before?

(fakes remembrance)

Oh. Because it’s  laughable ? Because it’s a pipedream?

STEVE ROGERS

The stones are in the past. We can go back, we can get them.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

We can snap our own fingers. We can bring everyone back.

TONY STARK

Or screw it up worse than he already has, right?

STEVE ROGERS

I don’t believe we would.

TONY STARK

Gotta say, sometimes I miss that giddy optimism. However, high hopes won’t help if there’s no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said “time heist.”

Tony walks over to porch furniture and sits casually.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

I believe the most likely outcome would be our collective demise.

Scott sits next to Tony eagerly.

SCOTT LANG

Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel. That means no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events–

TONY STARK

I’m gonna stop you right there, Scott. Are you  seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on Back To The Future?

SCOTT LANG

(scoffs)

No.

TONY STARK

Good. You had me worried there. ‘Cause that’d be horsehit.

(hissing)

That’s not how quantum physics  works .

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(upset)

Tony ... We have to take a stand.

TONY STARK

We  did stand. And yet, here we are.

SCOTT LANG

I know you got a lot on the line. You got a wife, a daughter. But I lost people very important to me. A lot of people did. And now, now we have a chance to bring them back.  To bring  everyone back! And now you’re telling me that you won’t even–?!

TONY STARK

That’s right, Scott. I won’t. Even. 

(softly)

I can’t.

Perfect timing: Morgan comes out of the house and runs to Tony, who picks her up and stands.

MORGAN STARK

Mommy told me to come and save you.

TONY STARK

Good job. I’m saved.

(to the others)

I wish you’d come here to ask me something else.  Anything else. I’m honestly happy to see you guys, it was ... Oh, look, the table’s set for six–

STEVE ROGERS

Tony. I get it. And I’m happy for you, I really am. But this is a second chance.

TONY STARK

I got my second chance right here, Cap. Can’t roll the dice on it. 

(heading inside)

If you don’t talk shop, you can stay for lunch.

EXT. STARK CABIN - DRIVEWAY - DAY

Steve, Natasha, and Scott walk back to the car.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Well, he’s scared.

STEVE ROGERS

He’s not wrong.

SCOTT LANG

Yeah, but I mean, what are we gonna do? We need him. What, are we gonna stop?

STEVE ROGERS

No, I wanna do it right.

(sighs)

We’re gonna need a really big brain.

Scott points to Tony’s house incredulously.

SCOTT LANG

Bigger than his?!


	3. Model Successful

INT. DINER - TABLE - DAY

The Hulk is sitting in a chair at the end of the table. Except ... it’s not the Hulk as we’ve known him; it’s “Professor Hulk”–the physique of Hulk and the mind of Bruce Banner. This is immediately obvious at a glance, because he’s wearing regular clothes, glasses, and has some facial hair.

But he’s so large he looms over Scott, who’s on one side of the booth, and Steve and Natasha, who are on the other side.

BRUCE BANNER

Come on, I feel like I’m the only one eating.

(pushes a bowl at Scott)

Try some of that. Have some eggs.

SCOTT LANG

(staring at him)

I’m so confused.

BRUCE BANNER

These are confusing times.

SCOTT LANG

Right. No, no, that’s not what I meant.

BRUCE BANNER

Nah, I get it. I’m kidding! I know, it’s crazy. I’m still getting used to it myself.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

I’m happy for you, Bruce. I’m glad you made it work.

STEVE ROGERS

I know you warned us, but we were getting worried.

BRUCE BANNER

Yeah, sorry about the radio silence.  Eighteen months in a gamma lab. And like I said, I’m still getting used to it.

SCOTT LANG

(bewildered)

What did you ... do, exactly?

BRUCE BANNER

For years I'd been treating the Hulk like he's some kind of disease, something to get rid of. But then I started looking at him as the cure. So I put the brains and the brawn together, and now look at me: best of both worlds!

STEVE ROGERS

And the other guy ... he’s fine with this?

BRUCE BANNER

Eh, we have an understanding. I let him smash every now and then, and sometimes he lets me run the show by myself.

(waves down at his body)

Can you imagine if I had to fit on planes like this? It’d be a nightmare!

He’s interrupted by three children walking up to him tentatively.

GIRL

Excuse me, Mr. Hulk?

BRUCE BANNER

Yes?

GIRL

Can we get a photo?

BRUCE BANNER

One hundred percent, little person. Come on, step up.

Bruce carefully holds the phone out to Scott.

BRUCE BANNER (CONT’D)

You mind?

SCOTT LANG

(taking the phone)

Oh, uh ...

BRUCE BANNER

Say “green.”

The kids dutifully say “green” along with Bruce as Scott snaps the photo, and then Scott hands the phone back to Bruce.

BRUCE BANNER

(handing the phone to the kids)

There you go.

GIRL

Thank you, Mr. Hulk.

BRUCE BANNER

No, thank  you !

(waves as they walk off)

Listen to your mom, okay? She knows better.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(wryly)

A fan club means you’ve  really made it.

BRUCE BANNER

I know right? Kids used to be afraid of me.

(shaking his head)

Can’t believe it.

STEVE ROGERS

Bruce. About what we were saying...

BRUCE BANNER

Right. The whole time travel do-over? Guys, it’s outside my area of expertise.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Well, you pulled  this off. I remember a time when that seemed pretty impossible too.

Bruce makes a reluctant face.

INT. STARK CABIN - KITCHEN - NIGHT

Tony is rinsing a plate in the kitchen sink with a spray hose, and accidentally sprays it upwards a bit. Water hits a shelf on the wall.

Exasperated, Tony dries the plate with a towel before putting it on the rack, and then he uses the towel to wipe a couple droplets off of the shelf. The shelf is filled with glasses, knick-knacks, a couple of picture frames ... and he sees something that gives him pause.

He reaches to the back and pulls out a picture frame that was turned to face the wall, wiping dust off of the front of it.

CLOSE-UP on the photo. It’s Tony and Peter Parker, holding Peter’s Stark Industries internship certificate–upside down–and making “bunny ears” on each other’s heads. Peter’s grinning, wide and ecstatic.

Tony gazes down at the picture heavily for a moment, then looks toward the other room.

INT. STARK CABIN - TONY’S STUDY - NIGHT

Tony is walking around a table with a lit, glowing surface that’s projecting holographic models of data and graphs. He’s talking to F.R.I.D.A.Y.

TONY STARK

I’ve got mild inspiration, I’d like to see if it checks out ... so I’d like to run one last sim before we pack it in for the night. This time, in the shape of a Mobius Strip, inverted. Please.

The holo-display changes accordingly to a thick loop shape.

F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Processing ...

Tony watches the simulation move and reaches out to twist a couple of things in the holo-displays.

TONY STARK

Right, give me the eigenvalue of ... that particle... factoring in spectral decomp. That’ll take a second.

F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Just a moment.

Tony reaches over to take a swig of his drink as the hologram ripples and twists accordingly, the computer processing the data.

TONY STARK

(faking casualness)

Don’t worry if it doesn’t pan out. I’m just kind of ...

Tony shrugs. He’s the picture of feigned nonchalance as he watches. And eventually...

F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Model rendered.

The holo-display says “MODEL SUCCESSFUL.”

Shocked, Tony drops down heavily into a chair and stares in amazement. He gasps, hand over his mouth, then splays his hands.

TONY STARK

(disbelieving)

Shit!

MORGAN STARK (O.S.)

Shit?

Tony turns to see Morgan sitting on the steps of the stairs behind him. He puts a finger to his mouth in a shushing motion and shakes his head.

TONY STARK

(whispering)

What are you doing up, little miss?

MORGAN STARK

(mischievously)

Shit.

TONY STARK

No, we don’t say that. Only Mommy says that word. She coined it, it belongs to her.

MORGAN STARK

Why you up?

TONY STARK

(joking)

‘Cause I got some important shit going on here! Why do you think?

Morgan gives him a playfully disapproving look.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

No, I got something on my mind. I got something on my mind.

MORGAN STARK

Was it juice pops?

TONY STARK

Sure was. That’s extortion. That’s a word. What kind you want? Great minds think alike.

He gets up and holds his hands out toward her, and Morgan happily takes his hand and hops down the steps.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

Juice pops.  Exactly what was on ...

(glances back at holograms)

...my mind.

INT. STARK CABIN - MORGAN’S ROOM - NIGHT

Morgan’s in bed, the room lit by the warm glow of a lamp, and Tony’s leaning down next to her. He holds out a mostly-eaten juice pop on a stick towards her face.

TONY STARK

You done? Yeah?

(eats the last bite)

Now you are. Good.

Tony gently wipes Morgan’s mouth with his shirt sleeve, and moves her hair to the side. Then he puts his palms on her face and gently pushes her head down toward the pillow.

TONY STARK

That face ... goes there.

MORGAN STARK

Tell me a story.

TONY STARK

A story ... Uh, once upon a time, Maguna went to bed. The end.

MORGAN STARK

That is a  horrible story.

TONY STARK

Come on, that’s your favorite story.

He leans forward and kisses her forehead.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

Love you tons.

MORGAN STARK

I love you 3000.

Tony smiles.

TONY STARK

Wow...

He climbs up and turns the lamp off in her room, and opens the door.

TONY STARK (CONT ’D)

(whispering)

3000\. That’s crazy.

( normal volume )

Go to bed or I’ll sell all your toys. Night night!

Tony closes the door as he leaves, and Morgan giggles in her bed at his teasing.

INT. STARK CABIN - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT

Pepper is reading a book on the couch, next to a lamp in the dark of the room. Tony strolls in casually.

TONY STARK

Not that it’s a competition, but she loves me  three thousand .

PEPPER POTTS

Oh, does she now?

TONY STARK

You were somewhere in the low ... 6 to 900 range.

Pepper laughs a little at Tony’s antics, fond.

Tony looks over at the holograms he left in the nearby room, distracted.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

(absentmindedly)

Whatcha readin’?

PEPPER POTTS

Just a book on composting.

TONY STARK

(still distracted)

What’s new with ... composting?

PEPPER POTTS

Interesting science–

TONY STARK

(abruptly)

I figured it out. By the way.

Pepper looks up at him in surprise.

PEPPER POTTS

And, y’know ... just so we’re talking about the same thing ...

TONY STARK

Time travel.

PEPPER POTTS

(shocked)

What?

Tony looks between her and the holograms again meaningfully.

PEPPER POTTS (CONT’D)

(softly)

Wow. That’s ... amazing, and... terrifying.

TONY STARK

That’s right.

Tony sits next to her on the couch, close, and Pepper reaches out to put her hand on top of his.

PEPPER POTTS

We got  really lucky.

TONY STARK

Yeah. I know.

PEPPER POTTS

A lot of people didn’t.

TONY STARK

No, and I can’t help everybody.

PEPPER POTTS

(almost apologetically)

It sorta seems like you can.

TONY STARK

Not if I stop. I can put a pin in it right now, and stop.

Pepper smiles at him, and as much as it’s filled with love, it’s also sad.

PEPPER POTTS

Tony... trying to get you to stop has been one of the few failures of my entire life.

Tony smiles, but it disappears as quickly as it came.

TONY STARK

Something tells me I should ...

(nods to the holograms)

Put it in a locked box and drop it at the bottom of the lake, go to bed...

Pepper thinks about that, and then looks at him with understanding and love.

PEPPER POTTS

But would you be able to rest?

She knows that if she asked, he’d stop right now. But she knows him better than anyone, and she won’t ask that of him.

Tony looks back at her steadily, but sadly. 

They both know the answer to her question.

EXT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - AERIAL - DAY

Establishing shot.

BRUCE BANNER (V.O.)

Okay, here we go. Time travel test number one.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - HANGER - DAY

Scott, in the Ant-Man suit with a device on his back, walks towards the back of his quantum van.

BRUCE BANNER (O.S.)

Scott, fire up the, uhhh ... the van thing.

Scott opens the van’s double doors, and the quantum tunnel is on and all aglow with its normal pulse of oranges, pinks, and yellows.

Steve strides into view.

STEVE ROGERS

The breakers are set. Emergency generators are on standby.

Steve joins Scott, over where Bruce has a setup of multiple bulky-looking devices. It’s like a pile of high-tech suitcases, with buttons and small displays incorporated throughout.

Natasha’s next to him, looking at a tablet. The massive hanger they’re in is filled with junk around them: equipment, trucks, containers, quinjets ... it’s a hodge-podge of mess from over the years.

BRUCE BANNER

Good. If we blow the grid, I don’t wanna lose, uh ...

(points his thumb at Scott)

...Tiny here in the 1950s.

SCOTT LANG

Excuse me?

NATASHA ROMANOFF

He’s kidding! 

(to Bruce)

You can’t say things like that ...

BRUCE BANNER

(shiftily)

Just ... a bad joke.

Scott nods slightly and walks back towards the van.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(mumbling to Bruce)

You  were kidding, right?

BRUCE BANNER

(quietly)

I have no idea! We’re talking about time travel here. Either it’s all a joke, or none of it is.

(cheerfully and louder, to Scott)

We’re good! Get your helmet on!

Bruce grins and gives Scott a thumbs up, and Natasha fakes a cheerful smile in encouragement. Scott puts his helmet on dutifully.

BRUCE BANNER (CONT’D)

Scott, I’m gonna send you back a week, let you walk around for an hour, then bring you back in 10 seconds. Make sense?

SCOTT LANG

(waves a hand)

Perfectly not confusing!

STEVE ROGERS

Good luck, Scott. You got this.

Scott stands up straighter, encouraged.

SCOTT LANG

You’re right. I do, Captain America.

The quantum tunnel activates with a  zoop and Scott is sucked into it.

BRUCE BANNER

On the count of three! Three ...

Natasha and Steve look on in stress and hope, bracing themselves as Bruce presses buttons.

BRUCE BANNER (CONT’D)

Two ... one ...

Zoop . Scott’s back out–or is he? There’s a teenager in the suit.

TEEN SCOTT LANG

Guys? This ... this doesn’t feel right.

STEVE ROGERS

What is this?

BRUCE BANNER

(checking his machines)

What’s going on?

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Is that  Scott ?

TEEN SCOTT LANG

Yes it’s Scott!

Bruce does something and  zoop , teen Scott Lang is sucked into the tunnel and gone. Someone else reemerges in the suit: Scott, as an elderly wrinkled man.

OLD SCOTT LANG

Ow, my back!

STEVE ROGERS

What is  this ?!

BRUCE BANNER

Can I get a little space here?

STEVE ROGERS

(frantic)

Can you bring him back?

BRUCE BANNER

I’m working on it!

Bruce hits a couple more buttons and knocks his hand against the side of a screen while Steve and Natasha exchange freaked out glances.

Zoop . Old Scott is exchanged for a baby in the suit.

STEVE ROGERS

...It’s a baby.

BRUCE BANNER

It’s Scott!

STEVE ROGERS

As a baby!

BRUCE BANNER

He’ll grow.

STEVE ROGERS

Bring Scott back!

BRUCE BANNER

(to Natasha)

When I say kill the power, kill the power.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(stressed)

Oh my God ...

Natasha moves to a nearby wall to be ready while Bruce presses two more things.

BRUCE BANNER

And ... Kill it!

Natasha yanks a lever as Bruce hits his fist on a button.

Zoop . Scott’s back! He looks no worse for wear, other than shaken up and standing awkwardly.

SCOTT LANG

...Somebody peed my pants.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(relieved)

Oh, thank God.

SCOTT LANG

But I don’t know if it was baby me, or old me.

(beat)

Or just  me me.

BRUCE BANNER

(splaying his arms triumphantly)

Time travel!

Steve shakes his head and turns away in exasperation, hands on his hips.

BRUCE BANNER (CONT’D)

What? I see this as an absolute win!

EXT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - HANGER - DAY

Steve walks outside by himself and sighs, hands on hips again, discouraged by that disaster. The stillness is broken by the sound of car tires squealing in the distance. He looks up, and does a double take.

An Audi speeds up the roads. Steve just stands there, watching. The car careens around the last curve to stop near where Steve’s standing. It goes a bit too far, then slowly reverses to come parallel to Steve.

Tony Stark rolls the window down.

TONY STARK

Why the long face? Let me guess: he turned into a baby.

STEVE ROGERS

Among other things, yeah. What’re you doing here?

Tony ignores his question and climbs out of the car.

TONY STARK

That’s the EPR Paradox. Instead of pushing Lang through time, you might’ve wound up pushing  time through  Lang . It’s tricky, dangerous... somebody could’ve cautioned you against it.

STEVE ROGERS

(smiling slightly)

You did.

TONY STARK

(faking realization)

Oh, did I? Thank God I’m here. Regardless, I fixed it.

Tony holds up his right hand, which has some kind of device on a band wrapped around his palm.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

A fully functioning time-space GPS.

Steve smiles as he looks at Tony almost fondly.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

(holding up a peace sign)

I just want peace. Okay? Turns out, I can’t have that unless I know for sure I tried everything to reverse the whole ... end-of-the-universe thing.

Steve nods at him, understanding. They just look at each other for a moment. Tony sighs.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

We got a shot at getting these stones, but I gotta tell you my priorities. Bring back what we lost? I hope, yes. Keep what I found? I have to. At all costs. And ... maybe not die trying, would be nice.

STEVE ROGERS

I’m sure we’ll be keeping that in mind.

Steve holds his hand out for a handshake, and Tony shakes it. Tony looks at him just as fondly, glad to be back on the same side, and he walks to open the trunk of his car as Steve follows him curiously.

Tony pulls out Steve’s shield. Steve sighs, even the sight of it feeling heavy to him. There’s a lot of history here, both between the two men themselves and in what that shield–and the mantle it signifies–mean to Steve. He hasn’t fully been “Captain America” in years.

STEVE ROGERS

Tony, I don’t know ...

TONY STARK

Why? He made it for you.

(beat)

Plus, honestly I have to get it out of the garage before Morgan takes it sledding.

Tony flips the shield so that Steve can slide it onto his arm and hold it, getting used to the weight–literal and metaphorical–all over again.

STEVE ROGERS

(seriously)

Thank you, Tony.

TONY STARK

Will you keep that a little quiet? Didn’t bring one for the whole team.

(closing the trunk)

We  are getting the whole team, yeah?

STEVE ROGERS

We’re working on that right now.

EXT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - HANGAR - AFTERNOON

Scott’s carefully putting ingredients into a hard shell taco while sitting on a bench. Just as he holds it up, ready to eat, he looks up. From off screen comes the whir of a ship landing. A strong burst of air hits Scott, and the contents of his taco tragically go flying.

The ship is the Guardians’ Benatar, landed right in the compound’s front yard. Scott stares in taco-less confusion as Rocket yells at him from the ramp of the ship.

ROCKET

Hey, humie! Where’s the big green?

SCOTT LANG

Kitchen, I think.

Nebula walks by.

SCOTT LANG (CONT’D)

(watching her)

That’s  awesome .

NEBULA

(into com)

Rhodey, be careful on re-entry. There’s an idiot in the landing zone.

Scott watches her go, and then–WHAM! War Machine lands abruptly in front of him. Scott yelps and drops the empty taco shell.

JAMES RHODES

What’s up, regular-sized man?

As Rhodey walks away, Bruce walks out of the compound, carrying food. He notices Scott dropped his taco, so he hands him a taco from his own lunch with a smile.

Scott gives Bruce a bemused look as Bruce walks off towards the Benatar.

This place is so weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The time travel test was my favorite scene to transcribe. Also, I truly do love the Stark family.  
> Sorry to say I think "I love you 3000" is cute in-universe outside of how gross the marketing later made it. Can't blame Morgan for that.


	4. A Chance

EXT. SKY

The Benatar is taking off, with Bruce and Rocket piloting.

EXT. NEW ASGARD - OUTSKIRTS - DAY

MUSIC: “Supersonic Rocket Ship” by The Kinks. 

Bruce is sitting folded up in the bed of a pickup truck, with Rocket next to him. The truck moves slowly down a winding road, surrounded by hills and grassy areas. 

A simple sign says

“WELCOME TO NEW ASGARD 

PLEASE DRIVE SLOWLY”

And a smaller sign below translates it into Asgardian runes.

EXT. NEW ASGARD - AERIAL

From above, the town is rustic and mostly unadorned, but architecture varies.

EXT. NEW ASGARD - MAKESHIFT HARBOR - DAY

The pickup truck drives into the town, past fishermen in earthy clothes carrying supplies. They look around at it and its strange passengers curiously. This area is clearly a small port, and there are boats on the water. Rocket and Bruce climb out of the truck and look around, and the truck drives off.

ROCKET

Kind of a step down from the golden palaces and the magic hammers and whatnot.

BRUCE BANNER

Hey, have a little compassion, pal. First they lost Asgard, then half their people. They’re probably just happy to have a home.

Valkyrie calls out to them from a few feet away.

VALKYRIE

Wow, we’re letting all sorts in here these days.

Bruce turns around with a wide smile.

BRUCE BANNER

Aaahhh, Valkyrie! Great to see you, angry girl!

Valkyrie looks Bruce up and down.

VALKYRIE

This is new.

BRUCE BANNER

Yeah, it worked! You like it?

VALKYRIE

I think I liked you better either of the other ways.

Bruce rolls his eyes.

BRUCE BANNER

We switch off when we need to, but this is the usual compromise.

VALKYRIE

Still weird.

BRUCE BANNER

(motioning to Rocket)

This is Rocket.

ROCKET

How you doin’?

Valkyrie sizes him up warily.

VALKYRIE

Hey.

(to Bruce)

Come on. I’ll take you to him.

EXT. NEW ASGARD - THE PALACE - DAY

Valkyrie leads Bruce and Rocket up a hill, at the top of which is one of the largest structures in the town. It’s somewhat church-like in construction, and nowhere near Asgard’s previous splendor, but beautifully made all the same.

INT. NEW ASGARD - PALACE HALLS - DAY

Valkyrie walks with Bruce and Rocket down hallways that have a rustic feel, but are well-lit with large windows.

VALKYRIE

He officiated a wedding this morning, and now he’s hosting the feast.

BRUCE BANNER

A wedding? Wow, that’s great.

ROCKET

He do that kinda thing a lot?

VALKYRIE

Sure. He’s the King.

BRUCE BANNER

Guess that’s why he’s always too busy to talk much, or invite us over.

ROCKET

Uh huh... For 5 years.

Valkyrie gives them a knowing look but doesn’t say anything.

INT. NEW ASGARD - HALL ENTRYWAY - DAY

They enter a side room and approach 2 large doors, and the sounds of laughter and revelry are already audible.

VALKYRIE

Stay here.

Valkyrie opens a door and walks in. She leaves it open a bit behind her, and Bruce and Rocket peer in.

INT. NEW ASGARD - PALACE BANQUET HALL - DAY

There’s a long table in the room covered in food and drinking cups. None of the dishware is fancy–it’s all simple metalwork, not gold–but this is clearly a feast. Guests line the sides of the table, and the happy couple is seated at the head of it on one end. At the other end sits Thor.

His hair is long again, and he has a beautifully-braided, long beard. He’s also back to using the black eye patch instead of the prosthetic eye. There’s a cloak around his shoulders, and he has parts of his armor on–not for battle, but for ceremony. He looks every bit a king, smiling and entertaining half of the guests there, who are laughing uproariously.

Thor takes a large swig of ale with one large hand as Valkyrie approaches him, and Valkyrie bends down to speak into his ear. Thor’s smile dims, and he glances over to the doorway to see Rocket and Bruce peering in. Rocket does a little wave.

Thor stiffens, and hesitancy flickers across his face, but it’s gone as quickly as it came. He shakes it off and chugs the rest of his ale, and then he lumbers up, calling the attention of everyone present. It’s noticeable now that he’s put on some weight and has a beer belly; he moves like his friend Volstagg once did, but in his demeanor, there are echoes of his father. He is a joyous Viking; he is also a king.

THOR

If you’ll excuse me, everyone, I have something to attend to.

Everyone boos, and he laughs.

THOR (CONT’D)

Don’t stop on my account! Enjoy the celebrations!

The newly-married husband stands up and lifts his drink, and his wife joins him.

HUSBAND

To King Thor!

EVERYONE

TO KING THOR!

Thor laughs again, humble, and waves this away in gratitude as he follows Valkyrie out of the door.

INT. NEW ASGARD - HALL ENTRYWAY - DAY

As soon as Valkyrie closes the door behind them, Thor’s cheerful demeanor becomes a little more tinged with anxiety. He’s putting on some sort of a show, but it’s not yet evident what kind.

THOR

My friends! How have you been? It’s been far too long!

BRUCE BANNER

Hey buddy, where’ve  you been? We’ve missed you.

ROCKET

Yeah, you barely answer our messages.

THOR

Oh, you know, here and there. Being King takes up quite a bit of time. Did Brunnhilde tell you I officiated a wedding today?

VALKYRIE

Oh no, I want no part in...  whatever this is. I’ll leave you boys to it, shall I?

She looks at Thor meaningfully and walks out.

THOR

(laughing awkwardly)

Ah, she’s busy these days too. There’s always ... you know, a lot to do, I’m sure you can imagine–

BRUCE BANNER

Yeah, but we wouldn’t bother you if it wasn’t important. Listen, Thor ... We need your help. There might be a chance we could fix everything.

THOR

(pretending at ignorance)

Hm? Fix what? Things are going great around here, so I’m not sure what you’re talking about–

BRUCE BANNER

(meaningfully)

Fix Thanos.

Slowly, Thor’s manic smile and cheer disappears. And as what was left of the kingly disposition he was projecting slowly fades, it all becomes evident: the grief and guilt that weighs on him–and that he hides in front of others–as well as the fear that Thanos’ name invokes.

Thor looks up at Bruce, tired and scared, and points at him with a shaking hand.

THOR

Don’t you say that name.

Rocket watches with dawning concern for his friend.

ROCKET

Thor?

THOR

We don’t ... We don’t need to ... He’s  dead . We have no need to say that name here.

BRUCE BANNER

I know that talking about...  that guy might be hard for you–

THOR

Why would it be? Why would–why would it be hard for me to talk about that guy?  I’m the one who killed that guy, remember? Anyone else kill that guy? Nope. That was  me . I killed that guy, and now I’m the King, and everything is going absolutely fine. Better than fine!

ROCKET

You don’t  seem fine.

THOR

(meanly)

How would you know whether or not I’m fine?

BRUCE BANNER

That’s the thing: we wouldn’t, because you won’t talk to us. But I get that you might be in  a rough spot, okay? I’ve been there myself. You wanna know who helped me out of it?

THOR

I don’t know. Is it ... Natasha?

BRUCE BANNER

(gently)

It was you. You helped me.

Thor rubs his hands down his face and paces away, and then he turns back and points at the banquet hall door, beyond which the celebrations continue.

THOR

Why don’t you ask the Asgardians in there how much my help was worth? The ones who are left, anyway. Most of their families didn’t even get to see this wedding. Do you understand that?

BRUCE BANNER

I think we can bring them back.

THOR

(breathing hard)

Stop. Just ... stop.

Thor covers his face again, and takes a deep breath, collecting himself. Bruce and Rocket wait, exchanging sad glances. Thor takes his hands off his face, and he’s near tears, breaking down.

THOR (CONT’D)

Whatever it is ... whatever it is that you’re offering ... I can’t do it. Okay? I  can’t . I have a responsibility to my people ... what’s left of them ... and I can’t abandon them only to fail them again.

BRUCE BANNER

You didn’t fail them–

Thor scoffs.

BRUCE BANNER (CONT’D)

–and this is the second chance we never thought we’d get.  We need you, pal.

Thor shakes his head and looks away. It’s not so much that he can’t, but he won’t. He’s afraid to.

ROCKET

(crossing his arms)

Look, we already did the losing thing, yeah? So we can’t lose  again . Either we fix this, or we don’t. You got nothing to worry about. It sure as hell can’t  get any worse, right?

Thor pauses and looks down at him consideringly.

He’s right.

EXT. BUDAPEST - FLOWER SHOP - AFTERNOON

TITLE: BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

A first-floor storefront advertises flowers in its front window. The store is part of a taller brick building, with windows above it, and it’s wedged amongst multiple other tall buildings.

A man walks inside through the shop’s front door, and the bell on the door jingles.

INT. BUDAPEST - FLOWER SHOP

The shop is filled with various flower displays and gardening supplies. The man nods to the elderly woman at the counter, who nods back. He walks through the store towards the back, and as he makes his way through aisles, the bell on the front door jingles again off screen.

He enters a back room filled with stock of various items, then an empty smaller space beyond that, and he opens a door to reveal a narrow wooden staircase leading to a basement level.

As he walks down the stairs,  we hear faint whistling in the distance.

INT. BUDAPEST - MOB BASEMENT - MAIN AREA

The stairs open up to a large basement area with crates lining the walls and stacked in various sections. Shady-looking characters are organizing some of their contents, which are drugs, weapons, and the like.

A couple of hallways branch off from the main area; this place is bigger than you’d think. In a corner away from the crates, the newcomer joins a group of men in suits around a table who are having a conversation.

He nods towards one of the side halls, from where the whistling continues faintly in the distance.

M OB  #1

(in Russian)

Who’s the annoyance?

MOB  #2

(in Russian)

An American spy.

MOB  #1

(in Russian)

Can we shut him up?

MOB  #3

(in Russian)

Not yet. The boss wants to talk to him.

INT. BUDAPEST - MOB BASEMENT - SIDE HALL

The camera moves down the hall, and the whistling gets louder as makeshift jail cells come into view. All are empty except one.

Behind the bars of a cell is Clint Barton, lying on the ground with his hands on his stomach, whistling obnoxiously.

He’s in regular casual clothes not dissimilar to the men moving the drugs and weapons, and he has a new haircut and a sleeve of (fake) tattoos. He doesn’t look like a “superhero” or a spy; he looks like he was undercover, because he was.

Suddenly, Clint turns serious and stops whistling as he cocks his head, sensing something in the silence. There’s a distinct buzzing sound; Clint smirks to himself, recognizing it. It’s immediately followed by an explosion of noise coming from the main area. Men yell indistinctly in Russian, joined by gunfire and the sounds of fighting.

Clint rolls to his feet and flattens himself against the wall of his cell, continuing to listen. Then he rolls up the leg of his pants to remove a flesh-colored adhesive taped to the back of his knee, and from underneath it he removes a lock pick.

As the noise continues, he picks the lock on his cell. Now free, he approaches the end of the hall cautiously, moving flat against the wall.

When he gets an opportunity, he ducks out of hiding, immediately grabbing the closest mob guy. Clint breaks the guy’s neck and steals his gun, then enters the fray.

INT. BUDAPEST - MOB BASEMENT - MAIN AREA

The reason for the ruckus is Natasha, who’s causing mayhem; half the men are down already. Clint doesn’t react with surprise; he’d heard the tell-tale buzzing shock of her widow’s bites.

Natasha’s currently taking a guy down with a line around his neck, using him as a shield for gunfire. She ducks behind a crate and tosses out two of her widow’s stings, electrocuting the closest shooters.

Clint picks off a couple more guys with shots, then gets into hand-to-hand combat when a man turns around to meet him. Natasha VAULTS over the crate and takes down one of the last guys with a flip of her legs around his neck. Simultaneously, Clint breaks his opponent’s arm, and then knocks him out with one last blow.

They stand there, breathing hard amongst the bodies, and then look at each other.

CLINT BARTON

Man... I’ve been waiting  months  to beat these guys up. Can’t believe you took this from me.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

There’s still the old lady upstairs. You can take her out.

CLINT BARTON

Nah, she’s out of my league.

Natasha snorts in amusement. They start strolling around the bodies towards the stairs, Clint idly scratching at his fake tattoos.

CLINT BARTON

Damn, these things itch. Not that I’m not happy to see you, but what’s the occasion?

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(flippantly)

Well, you weren’t answering my calls.

They stop at the base of the stairs, and Clint smiles at her, understanding what she’s not saying. He pulls her into a hug, and she clutches him back, eyes closed in relief.

NATASHA ROMANOFF (CONT’D)

I was really worried, but... 

(moving back)

I also got the excuse I was looking for to pull you out.

CLINT BARTON

(concerned)

Why? What’s going on?

NATASHA ROMANOFF

We found something. A chance, maybe ...

CLINT BARTON

A chance to...

Natasha nods. Clint’s face crumples.

CLINT BARTON

(brokenly)

Tasha... don’t.  Don’t do that.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Don’t what?

CLINT BARTON

I still see them in my dreams all the time. You know I do.  Don’t give me hope.

(almost inaudible)

I can’t take it.

Natasha reaches forward and clasps one of his hands between her own, steadying him.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

I’m sorry I couldn’t give it to you sooner.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - HANGER - DAY

MUSIC: “Doom and Gloom” by The Rolling Stones.

Thor walks into view in sunglasses.  Tony strides into view behind him, carrying a massive coil over his shoulder. Thor’s in the way.

TONY STARK

Drifting left.  Spectator section is on the side there.

Thor puts his hands up and moves out of the way accordingly. 

Tony walks with purpose towards a huge, circular platform-like device in the center of the room. It’s big enough for many people to stand on, and it has curved sections spaced out around its edges. Multi-layered metal plates hang down from the ceiling above it.

TONY STARK

Racket! How we lookin’?

Rocket’s hanging from the bottom of the platform, working on something.  He doesn’t even turn around as he answers, not missing a beat.

ROCKET

Better than you, Tiny Stank.

Tony smirks, the banter old hat.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - WORKSHOP - DAY

Scott is in the middle of the room in a white and red quantum suit that looks to be, in part, by Tony’s design. It’s reminiscent of the Ant-Man suit, especially in the helmet design, but in material it’s more akin to a nanotech Iron Man suit. 

Bruce is adjusting a holo-display on the side wall, and Nebula is standing near Scott, adjusting a holo coming from his shoulder. She’s calibrating the suit.

Rhodey walks in.

JAMES RHODES

Time travel suit? Not bad.

Bruce moves towards Scott, handling a small red particle vial in his extremely large hands, ready to place it in the belt of Scott’s suit.

SCOTT LANG

(frantic)

Hey, hey, hey. Easy, easy!

Scott takes the particles from him. 

BRUCE BANNER

I’m being very careful.

SCOTT LANG

No, you’re being very  Hulky .

BRUCE BANNER

I’m being careful!

SCOTT LANG

(holding up the vial)

These are the only Pym Particles we have, alright?  And since Hank Pym got snapped out of existence, this is it. This is what we have . I can’t make us any more.

JAMES RHODES

Scott, calm down. We know. That’s why we’re doing this.

SCOTT LANG

Sorry. I’m freaking out, okay? We’ve got enough for this test run and a little extra, but if this doesn’t work, we’re sunk.

BRUCE BANNER

Well,  if this works, we’ll have way more than that.

SCOTT LANG

(blows out a breath)

I don’t know if I can do this.

Tony pops his head around the doorway.

TONY STARK

You’re a thief, aren’t you? You’ll be fine.

Tony disappears again.

SCOTT LANG

(sarcastically)

Oh, great pep talk, thank you.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - HANGER - DAY

Scott walks up a ramp onto the quantum platform. Everyone’s there to watch.

BRUCE BANNER

Okay, you’re gonna feel a little discombobulated from the chronoshift. Don’t worry about it.

Scott takes his position on the platform, shaking his limbs and bouncing in place to psych himself up.

TONY STARK

Coordinates set?

NEBULA

Yes.

BRUCE BANNER

Time, place, and location. All calculated. He’s good to go.

SCOTT LANG

(tapping his wrist)

Way home is set, too.

TONY STARK

Good. Suit’s programmed, platform’s your anchor, let’s get this show on the road. In and out, no funny business, grab the particles and send your ass home as soon as you can. Got it?

SCOTT LANG

Got it.

(mumbling to himself)

It’s just another job. Just another job...

BRUCE BANNER

Alright Scott, we’re going in three ... two ... one!

Scott’s helmet pops into place, and the platform underneath him turns into a giant quantum tunnel. In a flash of light, he shrinks and goes quantum. 

He flies through the multicolored quantum realm in a swirl of colors/energy, squinting at the HUD in his suit, and he angles himself in the correct direction according to what it says.

He flies through a tunnel and grows back to his normal size in a different place–and time.

EXT. 1987 SHIELD FACILITY - DAY

Scott is across the street from a SHIELD facility, a big ugly building that’s fairly drab, in greys and beige with a fence around it. The car types that are nearby are enough to indicate this isn’t modern day, dating it as being around the late 80s. Scott immediately shrinks back down to hide in the grass, which is good, because an older SHIELD van model rounds the corner a moment later to rumble towards the compound entry gate.

Scott looks around in the grass and spots an ant he can ride. He walks up to it placatingly, arms outstretched, and it looks at him curiously.

SCOTT LANG

(soothingly)

Hey, buddy, can you help me out?

CUT TO:

Scott rides on the back of the ant, zooming towards the compound, completely undetected by the guards and personnel walking around. We follow along as he zooms effortlessly closer, and sneaks his way into an outside air vent grate. 

INT. 1987 SHIELD FACILITY - AIR VENT

He continues to ride on the back of the ant as it crawls through the vent tunnels and around a couple of vent corners, approaching another grate.

SCOTT LANG

(quietly)

Okay, if we’re right, this should be ... Yes! Jackpot!

Scott’s looking down into a room that seems like a lab of some sort, and from above there are two figures. Even from afar, they’re recognizable as a younger Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne. Their voices confirm it.

JANET VAN DYNE

You haven’t eaten in hours. Let’s take a break.

HANK PYM

Alright, alright, I’m coming.

They walk out of the room, and the door audibly locks heavily behind them. Scott waits for a moment, and then he carefully directs the ant to fly down, landing in front of a glass cabinet that’s clearly made to hold vials. He peers in, and ...

SCOTT LANG

Oh, no.

There’s only one vial.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - HANGER - DAY

Scott reappears on the quantum platform. 

BRUCE BANNER

Yes! Did it work? Did you get it?

Scott’s helmet retracts, and he carefully unfolds his hand to show the vial in his palm.

SCOTT LANG

Good news, it worked and I got it. Bad news ... it’s not much. Hank must’ve been running low. This is all I could grab.

JAMES RHODES

Great. What are the odds of  that happening...

TONY STARK

Well, how much is this good for?

SCOTT LANG

One round trip each, more or less.

Everyone looks around at each other.

SCOTT LANG (CONT’D)

I could try to go back again–

TONY STARK

No, it’s a risk. Something worse could happen. 

STEVE ROGERS

He’s right. We can’t keep doing test runs. If the method works, this has to be enough.

THOR

One shot or nothing.

CLINT BARTON

We’d better plan like hell.


	5. Time Heist

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

In bold letters, a holo-display says

“Operation TIME HEIST

Loading ... BRAINSTORMING SESSION”

The holo-display changes to show images of each of the infinity stones, labeled in a line. Pan down the line of stones on display as Steve speaks.

STEVE ROGERS (O.S.)

Okay, so the “how” works. Now we gotta figure out the when and the where. 

Land on Steve, at the end of the displays.

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D)

Almost all of us have had an encounter with at least one of the six infinity stones.

Steve, Tony, and Bruce are pacing around the room, leading the planning as everyone else pays attention. Continuous tracking shot as each person speaks in turn.

TONY STARK

Or substitute the world “encounter” for damn well near been  killed by one of the six infinity stones.

SCOTT LANG

I haven't. But I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about.

BRUCE BANNER

Regardless, we only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each, and these stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history.

TONY STARK

Our history. So, not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in, yeah?

CLINT BARTON

Which means we have to pick our targets.

TONY STARK

Correct. So...

JAMES RHODES (O.S.)

Wait ... wait a second, let me ask you something. 

The brainstorming energy in the room (and the continuous shot) grounds to a halt as everyone turns to look at him.

JAMES RHODES

If we can do this, you know, go back in time ... Why don’t we just find baby Thanos, you know, and ...

Rhodey mimes strangling the baby.

Natasha makes a considering face.

BRUCE BANNER

First of all, that’s horrible–

JAMES RHODES

It’s  Thanos .

BRUCE BANNER

–and secondly, time doesn’t work that way. Changing the past doesn’t change the future.

CLINT BARTON

Wait, the man has a point.  Can’t we go back and get the stones before Thanos gets them ... and then Thanos doesn’t have the stones? Problem solved.

NEBULA

That’s not how it works.

CLINT BARTON

Well, that’s what I heard.

BRUCE BANNER

What? By who? Who told you that?

JAMES RHODES

(counts on his fingers)

Star Trek, Terminator, TimeCop, Time After Time–

CLINT BARTON

Quantum Leap–

JAMES RHODES

A Wrinkle In Time, Somewhere In Time–

SCOTT LANG

Hot Tub Time Machine–

STEVE ROGERS

Hot Tub–seriously?

JAMES RHODES

Hot Tub Time Machine! Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Basically, any movie that deals with time travel. This is known.

BRUCE BANNER

I don't know why everyone believes that, but that isn't true. Think about it: If you travel to the past, that past becomes your future. And your former  present becomes the past ... which can't  now be changed by your new future.

NEBULA

Exactly.

Thor, sitting in the corner, looks completely thrown.

SCOTT LANG

So... Back To The Future's a bunch of bullshit?

STEVE ROGERS

Wait, everyone just ... slow down. So, Bruce, we can’t change the future by changing the past. I got that part. Well, what happens if we  do accidentally change something? What are the risks?

Tony, who’s been facepalming in the background during this chaos, finally speaks up.

TONY STARK

God, okay, I need food before we open Quantum Physics 101. Anyone want eggs? Breakfast?

THOR

(raising his hand)

I would like some ale, thank you.

TONY STARK

(point ing to him)

Not on the menu. But trust me, I’d love to be drunk for this too.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - DINING ROOM - DAY

They’re all sitting around the table eating breakfast–except for Rocket, who’s sitting  on the table. No one seems to find this odd. Thor has managed to get beer, Scott has a juice box for some reason, and everyone else has orange juice or water.

SCOTT LANG

(mouth full)

So what you’re saying is ... anything that we change in the past immediately turns  that timeline into an alternate reality.

BRUCE BANNER

Exactly.

SCOTT LANG

Ugh.

THOR

So nothing we do in the past can affect  us , but it ... changes  that universe, in some other timeline?

TONY STARK

Yep.

THOR 

(deep in thought)

Hm.

STEVE ROGERS

So what happens if we mess something up when we go back? If we change something by accident?

TONY STARK

Butterfly effect. We create  that different universe, officially. 

(indicates with his fork)

Branched off timeline. Could be a better one, could be a worse one.

BRUCE BANNER

There’s really no way of knowing.

JAMES RHODES

So some  tiny thing we might change by accident could end up making World War III. But in a different universe.

ROCKET

(mumbling)

Could we make a universe where Barton makes better eggs?

Clint throws a napkin at him.

TONY STARK

(to Rhodey)

Theoretically.... but hopefully not.

ROCKET

I’m hoping, personally.

STEVE ROGERS

Is that really something we should mess with?

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(meaningfully)

Can we afford not to?

They all absorb that for a moment.

BRUCE BANNER

Theoretically, if there are infinite universes and time isn’t linear ... Any universe we could accidentally make exists already.

ROCKET

Huh?

TONY STARK

...and  that would be Quantum Physics 201, which is not a prerequisite for this mission. Okay, class dismissed, back to the stones. Everyone done eating?

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - CONFERENCE ROOM - DAY

The holo-displays are up again–and so are Steve, Tony, and Bruce. The table’s clean, and Rocket’s pacing on it. 

Pan across the room: Clint’s eating Skittles that he passes to Natasha. Nebula’s in the back examining a Twizzler curiously. Thor’s eating an entire Hershey’s bar by himself, and Scott’s got a Snickers. Rhodey is shaking his head at them as a collective.

“POWER STONE” comes up on the holo-display.

TONY STARK (O.S.)

Raccoon first. Go.

Rocket grumbles, but starts talking nonetheless.

ROCKET

Quill said he stole the power stone from Morag.

SCOTT LANG

Is that a person?

ROCKET

Morag’s a planet.  Quill was a person.

SCOTT LANG

A planet? Like in outer space?

Rocket leans forward in front of Scott patronizingly.

ROCKET

Oh, look, it’s like a little puppy! All happy and everything!

(imitating talking to a puppy)

Do you wanna go to space? You wanna go to space, puppy? I’ll take you to space.

TIME CUT:

“REALITY STONE” is on the display. Thor stands in front of it, and faces everyone else in the room.

THOR

Where to start? Um ... The Aether, first, is not a stone.  At least it wasn’t before ... everything. Someone called it a stone before. It’s more of an ... angry sludge thing. So, someone’s going to need to amend that.

Confused faces around the room. Rhodey and Clint exchange concerned looks.

THOR (CONT’D)

(getting serious)

Anyway.  Many years ago, my grandfather had to hide the stones from the Dark Elves. So, Jane ...

An image of Dr. Jane Foster comes on screen.

THOR (CONT’D)

Oh, there she is.  She stuck her hand inside the rock holding the Aether, and then the Aether stuck itself inside her. And she became very sick.

Steve’s confusion intensifies. Scott, however, looks awed and riveted by this convoluted tale. Hero-worship.

THOR (CONT’D)

So, I had to take her to Asgard.

(gradually getting upset)

My home planet, which is... which is gone now...

BRUCE BANNER

So, you ... what? You got it out of her?

THOR

Ah, no. Malekith the Dark Elf took it out of her, and then he let it sort of... 

(waves hand)

Possess him.

A beat of silence.

TONY STARK

(claps once)

Okay, great! Well, we can’t call Mister Elf, so. Call her.

THOR

Call who?

TONY STARK

Call your girlfriend. Get her help with this.

THOR

Oh, Jane and I ... we aren’t dating anymore. I can’t just “call her.” It’s ... Well, it’s sad, but  these things happen you know? Nothing lasts forever.

As Thor’s mood deteriorates further with this trip down memory lane, and everyone around the room exchanges subtle “yikes” faces, Tony walks up and puts his arm around him. He hands Thor a phone as he gently guides him toward the door.

THOR (CONT’D)

(sagely)

The only thing permanent in life is impermanence.

TONY STARK

Awesome. Great TED talk. Now take one for the team, and go call your astrophysicist ex.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - LOUNGE - DAY

“SOUL STONE” is on a display as everyone sits on couches and armchairs.

NEBULA

Thanos found the Soul Stone on Vormir.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(writing notes)

What is Vormir?

NEBULA

A dominion of death, at the very center of Celestial existence. It’s where ... Thanos murdered my sister.

Natasha looks up from writing notes.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(gently)

Do you know anything other than that?

NEBULA

No.

A somber but awkward silence descends on the room.

SCOTT LANG

(quietly)

Not it.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - CONFERENCE ROOM - EVENING

Natasha and Tony are lying on the conference table, surrounded by a mess of papers. Bruce is splayed out on the floor, cleaning his glasses.

“TIME STONE” is on the display.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

So, that Time Stone guy ...

BRUCE BANNER

Doctor Strange.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Yeah. What kind of doctor was he?

TONY STARK

Ear-nose-throat meets rabbit from a hat.

BRUCE BANNER

Nice place in the village, though.

TONY STARK

Yeah. Sullivan Street?

BRUCE BANNER

Mmm... And Bleecker.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Wait. He lived in New York?

TONY STARK

(sarcastically)

No, he lived in Toronto.

BRUCE BANNER

(annoyed, to Natasha)

Yeah, at Bleecker and Sullivan.

TONY STARK

(to Natasha)

Were you listening to anything?

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Guys... If you pick the right year, there are 3 stones in New York.

Tony and Bruce both sit up in surprise.

BRUCE BANNER

Shut the front door.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - COMMON ROOM - NIGHT

Holo-displays show the stones divvied up by possible locations. 

Under the heading of “NEW YORK”: SPACE STONE, MIND STONE, and TIME STONE. 

Under the heading of “ASGARD”: REALITY SLUDGE; someone changed the name, per Thor. 

Under “MORAG”: POWER STONE. 

And in a separate window, the soul stone image floats with “VORMIR???” next to it.

STEVE ROGERS

(tiredly)

Alright. It’s a start.

Everyone in the room is sprawled out on chairs and couches, looks exhausted, stressed, or some combination of the two. The place is a mess of books and papers and laptops everywhere, and the lights are low now; they’ve been at this for hours.

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D)

I know we’re all impatient, but we’ll regroup in the morning. Get some rest.

EXT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - PROPERTY LINE - NIGHT

Establishing shot.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - NATASHA’S ROOM - NIGHT

Clint and Natasha are asleep in bed, backs to each other–a familiar position and a familiar skill of sleeping under pressure.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - GUEST ROOM 1 - NIGHT

Bruce is asleep on two beds pushed together.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - GUEST ROOM 2 - NIGHT

Rhodey and Scott are on one bed in the dark. Rhodey is asleep, and Scott is awake on his phone, playing Candy Crush.

On the other bed, Thor’s splayed out on his back, asleep and snoring.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - STEVE’S ROOM - NIGHT

Steve’s not even trying to sleep. He’s sitting up against the headboard, sketching by the light of a bedside lamp.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - TONY’S LAB - NIGHT

Through the lab’s glass doors/windows, it’s evident that Tony’s not trying to sleep either. He’s awake and working on making more quantum suits. Faintly, muffled by the glass, we hear the bass of rock music that must be blasting.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - COMMON ROOM - NIGHT

Rocket’s curled up on one couch, asleep. On another couch across from him, Nebula sleeps on her back, hands folded on her stomach–perfectly still. It’s efficient and learned from years of traumatic situations.

Move in on Nebula’s face. Close, and closer still, until only half of her face is in the frame. There’s a small furrow between her eyebrows.

GAMORA (O.S.)

(very faintly)

Nebula!

INT. THE BENATAR - NEBULA’S DREAM

Still in close-up, Nebula’s eyes open.

PULL BACK : she’s standing in the Benatar, below deck, looking around slowly. Everything is utterly silent, with an eerie, dream-like quality. Her movements are slow and soundless as she steps forward and trails a hand along the table.

GAMORA (O.S.)

(faintly, uneven)

Nebula!

Nebula turns around in a slow circle, looking for the source of the voice.

NEBULA

Gamora?

Nothing. She shakes her head and keeps walking. The camera tracks in front of her slowly, creeping.

GAMORA (O.S.)

(slightly louder)

Nebula! Can you hear me?

Nebula shakes her head again. She turns a corner, still moving slowly.

And she looks up. Across from her is Gamora, in the clothes she died in; she’s slightly desaturated and not entirely opaque, but it’s her. Her face is desperate. She’s looking around, searching like she can’t see Nebula at first, and then her eyes land on her. Spotting her, she still doesn’t make any move forward.

GAMORA

(perfectly audible now)

Nebula! You have to listen to me!

At normal speed now, Nebula shakes her head and puts her hands on her forehead.

NEBULA

No, no ... leave me alone. You’re  gone !

GAMORA

I’m not gone! I’m right here!

NEBULA

Stop  haunting me!

Gamora makes a noise of frustration.

GAMORA

Don’t push me out! Listen to me , you idiot!

That gets Nebula’s attention.

GAMORA (CONT’D)

I’m not gone. None of us are. I need you to  understand .

NEBULA

You’re dead.

GAMORA

Pay attention . Thanos wanted to keep me. Like a ...

(cups hands)

Like a prize. I became something he could finally own.

NEBULA

What?

GAMORA

He talked to me, begged for my forgiveness... every. single. day. after he won. He spoke to me like I was still the child he stole, all those years ago.

Nebula tilts her head as she tries to figure this out.

GAMORA (CONT’D)

Nebula, he  lied .

Nebula takes a small step forward, beginning to understand.

GAMORA (CONT’D)

I’m not gone. None of us are. We’ve been trying to get you to hear us.

(beat)

Please.

NEBULA

(in realization)

The soul stone.

Gamora smiles in relief.

Abruptly, the Benatar environment they’re in disappears. Now they’re standing in a yellow-orange place: the soul world, much less peaceful than the last time we saw it. Off screen, Nebula gasps.

Gamora is now in full color. Around and behind her, there are shadowy silhouettes of other people crowded close, densely layered, eerily moving restlessly. Souls, trapped in the stone.

GAMORA

(relieved)

Yes.

And with her acknowledgement–

The dream shatters.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - COMMON ROOM - NIGHT

Nebula bolts awake, sitting up and gasping.

NEBULA

Rocket . Rocket, wake up!

ROCKET

(half asleep)

Huh, whuh? Whas’matter?

NEBULA

He kept it. Thanos kept the soul stone.

ROCKET

What?

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - HANGER - DAWN

As the sun rises, the team walks through the room towards the platform in slow motion. All of them are in quantum suits, with different modifications for different people’s typical suits and forms. Steve’s carrying the shield.

As Steve speaks in a voiceover, we cycle through close-ups of three or four team members at a time–all of them serious, all of it epic.

STEVE ROGERS (O.S.)

Five years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends, we lost family ... we lost a part of ourselves.

The group walks up the ramp to the platform, except for Tony, who stops at a side station of screens to calibrate some things.

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D, O.S.)

You know your team. You know your missions.

Up on the platform, everyone holds their left hands out in a circle that we see from above.  On the top of each of their wrists is their quantum suits’ mechanisms, glowing. This is where their suit’s nanotech is held, and where it’s calibrated.

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D, O.S.)

Get the stones, get them back.

Steve is speaking on the platform to the whole team, looking around at them all.

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D)

One round trip each. No mistakes, no do-overs.

Everyone has various nervous expressions, but Steve’s words are helping to reassure them.

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D)

Most of us are going somewhere we know. But it doesn’t mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we’re gonna win.

Tony, at the side station, smiles. He’s missed these pep talks.

Back on Steve:

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D)

Whatever it takes. 

(beat)

Good luck.

ROCKET

He’s pretty good at that.

SCOTT LANG

Right?!

Everyone moves to take their specific places under the curved sections, and Tony presses some buttons on the station where he’s standing.

TONY STARK

Tracking beacons engaged.

CUT TO:

CLOSE-UP on a tiny, shrunk Benatar in Nebula’s palm.

ROCKET (O.S.)

Keep our ship in one piece.

NEBULA

I’m not the one who wrecks it all the time.

ROCKET

Really? Pretty sure I remember last time was  your fault.

Nebula rolls her eyes.

Tony jogs up the ramp to join them all, as they stand in a circle around the center. He smacks the device on his wrist, and it beeps.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(excitedly, to Steve)

See you in a minute.

Steve smiles back at her.

As the music swells, they all look around as the quantum platform’s mechanisms begin to shift and swirl, below them and above them. One by one, their helmets close, and they brace themselves. 

By their feet, the center of the platform opens to show the orange-yellow quantum realm ... and they all shrink and get sucked down into it.

Their tiny forms zoom through the colors and energy, and then they split off into intervals. Different teams enter different tunnels, to different places/times in history.

EXT. MANHATTAN - THE BATTLE OF NEW YORK - DAY - [AVENGERS 1]

TITLE:

NEW YORK

2012

Establishing shot of the open portal, Chitauri coming through.

CUT TO:

Two exact shots from  The Avengers : 

Chitauri stick to the side of a building; and then, on the ground below, the epic group hero shot of the team assembling in a circle.

CUT TO:

Aerial view of that classic shot; now, the Avengers’ figures on the ground looking tiny, and the camera shifts over to show a nearby block.

EXT. MANHATTAN - SIDE STREET - DAY - [AVENGERS 1]

The nearby area is a destroyed disaster because of the ongoing battle. Steve, Tony, Bruce, and Scott appear on the side street in their nano quantum suits.

They all touch their wrists, retracting the helmets and suits entirely, revealing that Tony and Bruce are in casual clothes. Scott is in his regular Ant-Man suit, and Steve is decked out in the gaudy Captain America suit from 2012.

STEVE ROGERS

Alright, we all have our assignments. Two stones uptown, one stone down. Stay low. Keep an eye on the clock.

Everyone startles at a sudden loud noise from the main street. They look over to see 2012 Hulk arrive. He smashes a car and jumps on top of it like an angry child, grunting. As the heroes stare, Hulk roars and runs offscreen after a Chitauri soldier.

Bruce winces and puts his hand over his eyes, embarrassed.

STEVE ROGERS

(to Bruce)

Maybe smash a few things along the way.

BRUCE BANNER

(ripping his shirt off)

I think it’s gratuitous, but whatever.

Bruce walks out into the street and grunts in a poor–and awkward–imitation of the Hulk. He lightly punches a car, growling half-heartedly, and picks up a motorbike to throw it into a wall.

EXT. SANCTUM SANCTORUM - ROOF - DAY - [AVENGERS 1]

Chitauri fly through the city, and pass the Sanctum Sanctorum. The Ancient One stands on the roof, hands aglow as she shoots Chitauri down and protects the Sanctum.

Bruce jumps onto the roof, arrogantly ignoring her, and casually heads towards a door leading to the inside.

THE ANCIENT ONCE (O.S.)

I’d be careful going that way. We just had the floors waxed.

Bruce turns to see the Ancient One standing there amongst potted plants, looking at him curiously. The Eye of Agamotto is around her neck, which holds the time stone.

BRUCE BANNER

I’m looking for Doctor Strange.

THE ANCIENT ONE

You’re about ... five years too early. Stephen Strange is currently performing surgery about twenty blocks that way.

(indicates the block)

What do you want from him?

BRUCE BANNER

(pointing towards the Eye)

That, actually.

THE ANCIENT ONE

Ah, I’m afraid not.

BRUCE BANNER

Sorry, but I wasn’t asking.

Bruce moves forward, intent clear.

THE ANCIENT ONE

You don’t want to do this.

BRUCE BANNER

Ah, you’re right, I don’t.

(reaches for the stone)

But I need that stone, and I don’t have time to–

The Ancient One hits the heel of her palm on Bruce’s chest to push his astral–and human sized–form out of his body. Bruce’s physical “Professor Hulk” body floats to the ground, and his fully human, astral self looks between his body and the Ancient One in shock.

THE ANCIENT ONE

Let’s start over, shall we?


	6. No Messing Around

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder: 99% of what happens in 2012 is the same as canon.  
> If you want to skim... I tweaked the tone of Steve's "Hail Hydra," the Steve vs. Steve fight, and a single line by The Ancient One but that's about it.

EXT. ASGARD - AERIAL - [THOR 2]

TITLE:

ASGARD

2013

The kingdom of Asgard from above: the rainbow bridge pointing towards the palace.

EXT. ASGARD - PALACE - BACK GARDENS - DAY - [THOR 2]

Thor and Rocket arrive via Bifrost, courtesy of Stormbreaker. A couple of ladies-in-waiting witness this and startle in shock, but then wave to Thor from afar upon realizing it’s him. Thor waves back as he and Rocket hurry into the open breezeways of the palace proper. 

Thor has the fake cybernetic eye back in; an eye patch would’ve looked even more odd than a beard and the weight gain.

ROCKET

(mumbling)

You don’t think that was a little flashy? The whole  planet probably saw that.

THOR

(mumbling back)

We didn’t exactly have another choice.

INT. ASGARD - PALACE - CORRIDOR - DAY - [THOR 2]

Thor and Rocket sneak into the palace halls. It looks mildly ridiculous, but deliberately so for laughs: Thor is carrying Stormbreaker around, and Rocket’s carrying the large syringe-like device to extract the reality stone from Jane.

Montage as they hug various walls to dodge guards and others, tiptoeing their way to Jane’s room.

As they pause to peer around a corner and make sure the coast is clear, Thor stares as his mother emerges from Jane’s room. Rocket notices his reaction, and the moment is now heavy with Thor’s sadness.

ROCKET

Who’s the fancy broad?

THOR

It’s my mother. She dies today.

ROCKET

Oh. That’s today?

Thor leans farther around the corner, chasing the sight of her.

THOR

What if I ... I just want to talk to her, just for a moment, maybe I can warn her–

ROCKET

Thor, no.

THOR

(tearfully)

How can I  not , Rabbit–

Rocket gently pulls a distraught Thor to the side and hops on a nearby ledge to look at him in the face.

ROCKET

Look, you remember what Stark and Banner said. Butterfly effect, right? This isn’t something you can mess with.  Now, I get you miss your Mom. But she's gone.  Really gone. And there are plenty of people who are only kinda gone, but you can help them.  And I know it’s been hard on you, losing everyone and all, but we can only fix what we can fix.

THOR

(mumbling)

Fix what we can fix. Yes. Right.

ROCKET

Exactly. Good. Now c’mon, you can do this.

Rocket hops down and scurries over to the door, and Thor follows, looking up and down the hall. Rocket holds up the syringe.

ROCKET (CONT’D)

You just need to make nice with your girlfriend in there–

THOR

Ex -girlfriend–

ROCKET

– girlfriend of this timeline , and get her to let you stab her with this. Shouldn’t be hard, right? You’re persuasive. I can keep watch.

Thor gently nudges him towards the door and starts backing away.

THOR

Actually, I have a beard now, which Jane would find weird, and you’re more persuasive than me. So really,  you should be the one to do this.

ROCKET

What? No, Thor, what are you–

THOR

I need to go talk to someone. I’ll be right back.

ROCKET

We  just talked about this–

THOR

(still backing away)

You said “fix what we can fix,” right? And I think I  already fixed something, but if I don’t fix it now, I’ll actually  ruin the timeline because then it won’t be fixed in the future. So if I  don’t go have this conversation, I might be starting World War III, making  this ... very important.

ROCKET

(whisper yelling)

What? That doesn’t make any–

THOR

(whisper yelling back)

You’re very persuasive, it’ll be fine!

Thor disappears around a corner.

ROCKET

Aaaand he’s gone. Great.

Rocket looks at the door to Jane’s quarters in trepidation.

CUT TO:

Thor sneaks down a couple of hallways, looking around himself avidly the entire time.

INT. ASGARD - HOLDING CELLS - [THOR 2]

Thor sneaks down the staircase, and approaches the side of Loki’s cell. He looks down at Stormbreaker, deliberating, then gently places it on the ground against the wall right next to the cell. And then, he takes a deep breath and steps into the light, in Loki’s view. 

Loki is lying on the bed, tossing a small object in the air.

EXT. MORAG - SPACE - [GUARDIANS 1]

TITLE:

MORAG

2014

EXT. MORAG - SURFACE - DAY - [GUARDIANS 1]

The Benatar is parked on the planet, and the ramp is down. Rhodey, Clint, and Natasha step off the ramp onto the surface, bracing themselves as dry wind swirls. They’re in their regular suits, quantum suits retracted already.

Nebula is the last to emerge, and as she walks out of the ship, she presses a button. The ship’s ramp closes as soon as she steps off of it.

A rodent-like Orloni bites Clint’s boot, and he kicks it. He and Rhodey make disgusted faces.

CLINT BARTON

This is... pleasant.

JAMES RHODES

Yeah, I’m really enjoying the atmosphere. Nice vacation spot.

Nebula throws a red Pym Particle Disk at the Benatar to shrink it back down to being palm-sized, and walks over to pocket it.

Meanwhile, Natasha and Rhodey are hugging tightly.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Take care, okay?

JAMES RHODES

Yeah. You too.

Natasha moves to hug Clint, and Rhodey looks at Nebula.

JAMES RHODES

(arms out)

C’mon.

Nebula blinks in surprise, but hesitantly moves forward a small step anyway. Rhodey closes the gap, and she allows him to give her an awkward hug. She doesn’t really reciprocate, but there’s a small, pleased smile on her face.

JAMES RHODES

Take that stone and come back. No messing around.

Nebula nods as she pulls back.

NEBULA

Be careful.

(to Clint and Rhodey)

Take cover.  You aren’t the only ones looking for this stone .

CLINT BARTON

Wait, what are you talking about right now?  Who else is looking for it?

NEBULA

My father, my sister ... and me.

JAMES RHODES

Oh, good. Sounds fun.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

You and Barton could use the bonding time. It’ll be a nice challenge for you.

CLINT BARTON

Can we trade? I’d rather go to the Garden.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(cheerfully)

Nope.

She moves to stand next to Nebula, and they both raise their wrists to look down at their quantum devices.

NATASHA ROMANOFF (CONT’D)

(to Nebula)

Get ready.

(to Clint and Rhodey)

See you back.

JAMES RHODES

Any last tips?

NEBULA

Get the stone. Be fast. Don’t die.

Natasha and Nebula’s quantum suits activate and cover them head-to-toe. They shrink down, headed back into the quantum realm–and elsewhere.

JAMES RHODES

(to the empty space)

Very helpful. Thank you.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - HANGER - DAY

The quantum platform’s base opens, and Natasha and Nebula fly out of the quantum realm in their suits, embiggening. They look at each other and nod.

EXT. EARTH - SPACE

The Benatar is leaving Earth’s atmosphere, and we see Nebula and Natasha in the pilot and co-pilot seats respectively. Then the ship jumps to lightspeed.

INT. THE BENATAR - COCKPIT

They watch the swirling colors out the windshield as they go through the singular jump, and The Garden planet appears.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(thrilled)

Does that ever get old?

NEBULA

Yes.

Natasha laughs.

EXT. THE GARDEN - FIELD - DAY

Natasha and Nebula are walking through the tall grass and fruit, with the Benatar parked behind them. They look around at three other ships–all different–that are parked nearby. Two of the ships look clearly abandoned, with foliage already starting to grow on their edges.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Are you sure there were no humanoid life signs? These ships were just ... left here?

NEBULA

Yes. The scanners didn’t pick anything up.

As they emerge from the tall grasses, the flat field near the hut comes into view. The ground is filled with about 10 vaguely-humanoid corpse pieces and bones. Alien creatures, vulture-like, are picking at the bodies that still have meat.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Shit.

NEBULA

We weren’t the only ones who knew to look.

EXT. MANHATTAN - STARK TOWER - [AVENGERS 1]

Iron Man clings to the side of a building, directly across from the penthouse level in Stark Tower. He’s scanning the interior, and the HUD shows the original 2012 Avengers apprehending Loki. It’s the back view of the iconic shot, when Clint pointed his bow at Loki’s face.

TONY STARK (O.S.)

Gotta hustle, Cap. Things look like they’re just about wrapped up here.

STEVE ROGERS ( OVER COM )

Got it. I’m approaching the elevator now.

INT. STARK TOWER - PENTHOUSE - [AVENGERS 1]

Iron Man gently flies through a broken penthouse window and lands, and the nanotech suit recedes almost silently into his arc reactor. Tony tiptoes around a decorative wall to peek into the main area of the room.

LOKI

If it’s all the same to you ... I’ll have that drink now.

A1 TONY

Alright, get him on his feet. We can all stand around posing up a storm later. By the way, feel free to clean up.

Our Tony smirks.

TONY STARK

Oh, Mr. Rogers. I almost forgot... That suit did nothing for your ass.

CLOSE-UP on A1 Steve’s ass.

STEVE ROGERS ( OVER COM )

No one asked you to look, Tony.

TONY STARK

Ridiculous.

SCOTT LANG ( OVER COM )

I think you look great, Cap.

An ant-sized Ant-Man is perched on Tony’s shoulder.

SCOTT LANG (OVER COM, CONT’D)

(saluting)

As far as I’m concerned, that’s America’s ass.

CLOSE-UP on A1 Natasha holding Loki’s scepter, which holds the mind stone.

A1 NATASHA

Who gets the, uh, magic wand?

A1 STEVE

Strike team’s coming to secure it.

On cue, the elevator trills. Tony turns to look: Agent Brock Rumlow, Agent Sitwell, and other SHIELD-but-secretly-HYDRA goons file out. Tony ducks fully out of sight just in time, and observes from a hiding place.

AGENT SITWELL

We can take that off your hands.

A1 NATASHA

(handing him the scepter)

By all means. Careful with that thing.

A1 CLINT

Unless you want your mind erased. And  not in a fun way.

Rumlow opens a large case for the scepter, and Sitwell moves to put it in as A1 Thor walks a chained Loki out.

AGENT SITWELL

We promise to be careful.

SCOTT LANG ( OVER COM )

Who are these guys?

TONY STARK

They’re SHIELD ... Well, actually, HYDRA. But we didn’t know that yet.

SCOTT LANG ( OVER COM )

Seriously? You didn’t? I mean, they  look like bad guys.

TONY STARK

You’re small, but you’re talking loud.

A1 Steve puts a hand on his ear.

A1 STEVE

(speaking into com)

On my way down to coordinate search and rescue.

Loki shapeshifts into Steve to imitate him.

LOKI

(in Steve’s form)

“On my way down to coordinate search and rescue.”

(shifting back to himself)

I mean, honestly! How do you keep your food down?

A1 Thor slaps a device on Loki’s mouth to muzzle him.

A1 THOR

Shut. Up.

Tony looks down at Scott on his shoulder.

TONY STARK

Alright, you’re up little buddy.

(looking at the Tesseract briefcase)

There’s  our stone.

Scott bends his knees, angling his ass up.

SCOTT LANG (OVER COM)

Alright. Flick me.

Tony flicks Scott, who lands on A1 Tony’s hand currently closing the Tesseract briefcase, and then scurries up his arm.

Backing away quickly, Tony activates his Iron Man suit and falls backwards out of the window he came in, flying down and away. Escape made.

The 2012 squad are squeezed into the Tower elevator, ready to head downstairs. A1 Hulk moves to enter with them.

A1 HULK

Move.

A1 TONY

Whoa! Whoa. Hey, buddy. What do you think? Maximum occupancy has been reached.

A1 THOR

Take the stairs.

Loki waves at Hulk sassily as the elevator doors begin to close and Hulk grunts in anger.

A1 TONY

Stop, stop–

Hulk roars and slams his fist into the closed elevator doors, leaving a massive dent.

A1 HULK

(growling and stomping away)

Take the stairs, take the stairs ...

EXT. MANHATTAN - STARK TOWER - [AVENGERS 1]

Our Tony’s flying around the Tower, scanning it.

TONY STARK

Alright, Cap. I’ve got our scepter in the elevator, just passing the 80th floor.

INT. STARK TOWER - RANDOM TOWER FLOOR - [AVENGERS 1]

Our Steve presses the button to call a different elevator.

STEVE ROGERS

On it. Head to the lobby.

TONY STARK ( OVER COM )

Alright. I’ll see you there.

INT. STARK TOWER - ELEVATOR - [AVENGERS 1]

The Strike team are in that very elevator, headed down with the scepter case.

AGENT SITWELL

(on the phone)

Evidence secure. We’re en route to Dr. List. No, no hitches at all, Mr. Secretary.

The elevator stops with a trill, and opens to show our Steve standing there. He walks in calmly.

AGENT SITWELL

Cap? Thought you were coordinating search and rescue.

Steve moves to take his place amongst the agents, in the center.

STEVE ROGERS

Change of plans.

BROCK RUMLOW

(assessing)

Hey Cap.

STEVE ROGERS

(nods to him)

Rumlow.

The doors close, and tension mounts. One of the agents, suspicious, puts his hands on his gun. It’s an echo of the elevator scene in The Winter Soldier. Steve, of course, notices this.

STEVE ROGERS

I just got a call from the Secretary. I’m gonna be running point on the scepter.

AGENT SITWELL

Sir? I don’t understand.

STEVE ROGERS

We got word there may be an attempt to steal it.

BROCK RUMLOW

Sorry, Cap. We can’t give you the scepter.

AGENT SITWELL

(pulling out his phone)

I’m gonna have to call the Director.

STEVE ROGERS

That’s okay. Trust me.

Sitwell gives him a puzzled look. Steve leans over to speak in a low voice near his ear.

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D)

Hail HYDRA.

Sitwell and Rumlow exchange surprised glances.

INT. STARK TOWER - 10TH FLOOR - [AVENGERS 1]

The elevator doors open and Steve walks out carrying the scepter case, striding purposefully as the agents stare in shock.

Steve’s jaw clenches. CLOSE-UP on his hand; he’s gripping the case handle in a tight fist, almost bending it.

Steve hated having to do that; he’d much rather have fought them all for a second time in his life. But years of working with spies means he’s learned the necessity of occasionally fighting smarter, not harder. And this time, that’s what’s needed.

INT. STARK TOWER - STAIRWELL - DAY [AVENGERS 1]

A1 Hulk’s still lumbering down the seemingly endless staircase, and pissed about it.

A1 HULK

So many STAIRS!

INT. STARK TOWER - LOBBY - DAY [AVENGERS 1]

Meanwhile, the 2012 Avengers made it easily to the lobby via their elevator. A1 Tony carries the case through the lobby, followed by A1 Thor with Loki in tow.

They file out of the elevator and pass a SWAT trooper–or do they?

This trooper is actually our Tony, in disguise. 

TONY STARK

(voice low)

Thumbelina, do you copy? I’ve got eyes on the prize. It is go time.

CLOSE-UP on A1 Tony to see Scott, currently hiding in his hair. He slides down to fall into his beard.

SCOTT LANG ( OVER COM)

Bombs away.

A1 Tony scratches at the annoyance, knocking Scott downwards into his Black Sabbath shirt–all according to plan. 

INT. TONY STARK’S SHIRT - CONTINUOUS [AVENGERS1]

Scott hangs off of the edge of the arc reactor.

SCOTT LANG (CONT’D)

Is that Axe body spray?

TONY STARK

Yeah, I had a can just for emergencies. Relax. Can we focus please?

Scott smacks his quantum belt and shrinks down even further.

SCOTT LANG

I’m going inside you ... NOW.

He slips easily into the arc reactor casing.

INT. STARK TOWER - LOBBY - DAY - [AVENGERS 1]

A1 Tony, Thor, and Loki get intercepted by a team from SHIELD that’s led by Secretary Alexander Pierce.

ALEXANDER PIERCE

May I ask you where you’re going?

A1 THOR

To lunch, and then Asgard. I’m sorry, you are ... ?

A1 TONY

Alexander Pierce. He’s the man, or one of the folks behind Nick Fury.

ALEXANDER PIERCE

My friends call me Mr. Secretary. I’m gonna have to ask you to turn that prisoner over to me.

A1 THOR

Loki will be answering to Odin himself.

Loki rolls his eyes.

ALEXANDER PIERCE

No, he’s going to answer to us. Odin can have what’s left of him. And I’m gonna need that case. That’s been SHIELD property for over 70 years.

SHIELD AGENT

Hand over the case, Stark.

The agent makes a grab for it, and A1 Tony moves it out of reach.

From the sidelines, our Tony is watching all of this go down.

TONY STARK

Alright, move it, Stuart Little. Things are getting dicey out here. Let’s go.

Back on the argument:

A1 TONY

(placatingly)

I’m not going to argue who’s got the higher authority here–

INT. TONY STARK’S ARC REACTOR - [AVENGERS 1]

Scott moves inside Tony’s arc reactor to grab a tube-like mechanism and study the wiring.

SCOTT LANG

You promise me you won’t die?

TONY STARK (OVER COM)

You’re only giving me mild cardiac dysrhythmia.

SCOTT LANG

That doesn’t  sound mild.

INT. STARK TOWER - LOBBY - DAY - [AVENGERS 1]

The argument is heating up further:

ALEXANDER PIERCE

I need the case.

A1 TONY

I know you gotta lotta pull, I’m just saying, jurisdiction–

ALEXANDER PIERCE

Okay, then give me the case.

SHIELD agents start trying to pull the case away from A1 Tony more avidly as he continues to resist.

Our Tony watches anxiously.

TONY STARK

Do it, Lang! Window’s closing. Pull my pin!

INT. TONY STARK’S ARC REACTOR - [AVENGERS 1]

SCOTT LANG

Here goes!

Scott yanks a wire out of place. 

INT. STARK TOWER - LOBBY - DAY - [AVENGERS 1]

Immediately, A1 Tony’s eyes go wide as he chokes, and convulses like he’s having a seizure.

ALEXANDER PIERCE

Stark? Stark!

A1 Tony drops the case, and he collapses heavily to the ground.

ALEXANDER PIERCE (CONT’D)

He’s convulsing. Give him air! Medic!

Still on the sidelines, our Tony looks around casually.

TONY STARK

Medic! Get this guy some help!

Thor leans over A1 Tony as he continues to convulse with wide eyes.

A1 THOR

Stark, you ... Your chest machine?!

During the chaos, a tiny Scott hops off of A1 Tony’s body and kicks the Tesseract briefcase away, towards our Tony in disguise. Loki realizes something weird is going on as the briefcase skids across the floor.

Tony scoops up the case and heads towards the stairwell door.

TONY STARK

(into com)

Great job. Meet me in the alley. I’m gonna grab a quick slice.

Suddenly, A1 Hulk SLAMS open the door Tony was heading for, sending Tony FLYING into the ground. The Tesseract briefcase goes flying too, popping open, and the Tesseract itself tumbles and skids to a stop right by Loki’s foot.

Hulk stomps away angrily and the public scatters, screaming. Chaos.

A1 HULK

NO! STAIRS!

Loki sees his chance and takes it: while everyone is preoccupied, he reaches with his manacled hands to grab the Tesseract from the floor and activates it. A space portal opens, and he’s sucked in; gone, and the cube with him.

Poor A1 Tony is still convulsing on the ground.

A1 THOR

I’m gonna try something, okay? I’ve no idea if it’s gonna work.

Thor grabs Mjolnir and places it gently on A1 Tony’s arc reactor. He gives the hammer a light smack, and a little bit of lightning sparks. A makeshift defibrillator!

A1 Tony gasps and stops convulsing, abruptly set to rights.

A1 THOR

(delighted)

YES!

A1 TONY

Whew. Wow, that worked a treat. That was so crazy!

A1 THOR

I had no idea that was gonna work.

A1 TONY

The case?

A1 THOR

The case! The case is, uh ...

(turns to look)

Where’s the case? ...Where’s Loki? Loki!

A few feet away, our Tony regains consciousness on the ground and rips off his mask. Scott, still tiny, hops up onto his chest.

SCOTT LANG

That wasn’t supposed to happen, was it?

TONY STARK

Oh, we blew it.

A1 THOR

(looking around)

Loki?!

INT. STARK TOWER - 14TH FLOOR - DAY [AVENGERS 1]

Our Steve is headed towards an upper walkway, carrying the scepter case and his shield.

STEVE ROGERS

(into com)

Tony, what’s going on? Tell me you found that cube.

Steve catches sight of something in front of him, and sighs in exasperation.

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D)

Oh, you’ve gotta be shitting me.

The walkway is glass, with glass barriers on either side of it, and it stretches across a wide-open interior space that connects two building pieces of multiple floors.

In front of him in the middle of the walkway stands his 2012 self, wearing the whole star-spangled outfit–including the helmet.

A1 STEVE

(into com)

I have eyes on Loki. 14th floor.

STEVE ROGERS

(placatingly)

I’m not Loki.

Steve places the scepter case down carefully.

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D)

And I don’t wanna hurt you.

A1 Cap isn’t interested in conversation. He moves forward and takes a swing with his shield.

Steve blocks it with a loud BANG of sparks as the vibranium shields collide!

Cap pushes Steve’s shield aside and goes for another blow, but Steve parries again–

Cap spins around in a kick that Steve barely dodges; Steve spins too, but Cap KICKS him hard in the chest–

So Steve goes flying backwards onto the ground. Cap isn’t even winded.

A1 STEVE

I can do this all day.

On the ground, our Steve blinks as he processes hearing that from someone else’s mouth. Then he smiles wryly and huffs a laugh to himself.

He hasn’t said that phrase or felt its truth in years. This old version of himself, cringey as he may be, is also a reminder for Steve: there are parts of himself that he’s forgotten.

Reinvigorated, and incongruously smiling, Steve gets to his feet.

STEVE ROGERS

Yeah, I know.

Steve throws his shield at Cap; Cap throws his back–

The shields COLLIDE in mid-air, bouncing off in different directions!

They run at each other and exchange blows and blocks with fists, until Steve takes a nasty punch to the face.

Steve GRABS Cap’s arm and swings him over his back, throwing him into the ground–

But Cap rolls up immediately; they grapple and Cap KNEES Steve in the gut–

So Steve tries to kick back–

But he accidentally kicks the scepter case, pushing it into the walkway’s side barriers!

The glass of the barrier shatters, and the case goes flying down onto a lower level of the building, popping open so the scepter falls out.

The shattered glass is all over the ground, and it makes things slippery; as they struggle, Cap and Steve both lose their footing and slip off the walkway platform.

It’s a long way down, and their fall is anything but graceful. 

They tumble end-over-end, smashing through one glass platform, then another, then hitting a staircase that they roll off of... until they finally come to a stop, dropping heavily onto the same floor as the case.

They’re both breathing hard. As they’re on the ground, Cap looks up to see something else on the floor: Steve’s compass, with Peggy’s photo on it. It fell out of his pocket.

Cap grabs it as they both struggle to their feet.

A1 STEVE

(demanding)

Where did you get this?

Instead of answering, Steve makes a grab for the scepter on the floor—but Cap steps on the scepter and twists to grab Steve in a chokehold. They both fall to the ground, wrestling and rolling, and Cap keeps the upper hand–choking the air out of Steve from behind!

As Steve is gasping for breath and scrabbling at Cap’s arm, he notices something: Bucky and Sam’s dog tags, which are around Steve’s neck, have fallen out of his uniform in the scuffle. 

It gives him an idea.

STEVE ROGERS

(forcing words out)

Bucky ... is ... alive!

In shock, Cap lets Steve go, and Steve struggles to get his breath back.

A1 STEVE

What?

With the element of surprise, Steve twists to punch Cap in the face, then finally snatches the scepter. Before Cap can hit him back, Steve turns and puts the scepter’s point on Cap’s chest. The mind stone glows, and... that’s it, Cap down for the count. Unconscious.

Steve breathes a sigh of relief and tucks the dog tags back into his uniform,  then grabs the compass too as he staggers back up.

He considers his past self, who’s facedown on the ground, dead to the world.

A thoughtful pause.

STEVE ROGERS

That  is America’s ass.

Steve straightens his uniform, and strides off screen.

EXT. SANCTUM SANCTORUM - ROOF - DAY - [AVENGERS 1]

Bruce’s physical Hulk-sized body is currently propped up against a wall, unconscious. There’s a floppy hat covering his face, as if he’s sleeping. 

Meanwhile, astral-projected human Bruce continues to try to argue with the Ancient One.

ASTRAL BRUCE

Please, please ...

THE ANCIENT ONE

(striding away)

I’m sorry. I can’t help you, Bruce. If I give up the time stone to help your reality, I’m dooming my own.

ASTRAL BRUCE

With all due respect, I’m not sure the science really supports that.

The Ancient One turns. With a flick of her arm and a  whoosh of sound, she projects a long ray of golden light through the air into the distance.

THE ANCIENT ONE

The Infinity Stones create what you experience as the flow of Time.

As she speaks and Bruce watches, a circle of six colored “stones” appears, rotating around the ray of light.

THE ANCIENT ONE (CONT’D)

Remove one of the stones ...

She demonstrates by flicking the green time stone image away.

THE ANCIENT ONE (CONT’D)

...and that flow splits.

A black ray of energy splits off of the golden light in a different direction, demonstrating a point of divergence.

THE ANCIENT ONE (CONT’D)

Now, this may benefit your reality, but my new one ... not so much. In this new branched reality, without our chief weapon against the forces of darkness, our world would be overrun. Millions would suffer. So tell me, Doctor... Can your science prevent all that?

ASTRAL BRUCE

No, but we can erase it. Because once we’re done with the stones, we can return each one to its own timeline at the moment it was taken. So, chronologically, in that reality ...

Bruce reaches for the image of the green time stone, which is hovering to the side, and replaces it in the circle. The black ray of energy disappears.

ASTRAL BRUCE (CONT’D)

...it never left.

THE ANCIENT ONE

(walking away)

But you’re leaving out the most important part. In order for you to return the stones, all must go according to plan.

ASTRAL BRUCE

It will. I promise.

THE ANCIENT ONE

(turning back around)

I can’t risk this reality on a promise. It is the duty of the Sorcerer Supreme to protect the Time Stone.

ASTRAL BRUCE

(frustrated)

Then why the hell did Strange give it away?

The Ancient One blinks in surprise.

THE ANCIENT ONE

What did you say?

ASTRAL BRUCE

Strange. He gave it away. He gave it to Thanos.

THE ANCIENT ONE

Willingly?

ASTRAL BRUCE

Yes!

THE ANCIENT ONE

...Why?

ASTRAL BRUCE

I have no idea. Maybe he made a mistake.

The Ancient One moves closer to Bruce intently, studying him.

THE ANCIENT ONE

(softly)

Or I did.

She reaches out a hand, and with a flick of her wrist she summons Bruce’s physical body. It levitates over to them and merges into Bruce’s astral form. 

As Bruce adjusts to being Hulk-sized again, the Ancient One moves her hands in the ritual movement to open the Eye of Agamotto, and the time stone is revealed. Carefully, she pulls the stone out so it hovers between her fingers, and she holds it out towards Bruce as she looks up at him now.

THE ANCIENT ONE (CONT’D)

Strange is meant to be the best of us.

BRUCE BANNER

(in realization)

So he must’ve done it for a reason.

THE ANCIENT ONE

I fear you might be right.

Bruce pulls a pouch from his pocket, and The Ancient One carefully places the time stone inside with reverence.

BRUCE BANNER

Thank you.

The Ancient One moves forward to fold her hands over his, and look up at him intently.

THE ANCIENT ONE

I’m counting on you, Bruce. We all are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, my hottest take was to keep the "Hail Hydra" in there. In terms of it being a necessary strategic move for Steve, I felt that was an interesting concept and telling of the subterfuge his character operated under after TWS. To me, canon's mistake was Steve's OOC satisfaction at saying it, and playing it for laughs.
> 
> You're very valid if you disagree though!


	7. Listen Carefully

INT. ASGARD - JANE’S ROOM - DAY - [THOR 2]

JANE FOSTER

Thor sent you? Really?

Jane is standing in her (temporary) lavish chambers in front of a sofa, wearing a gown and brandishing a pillow. It’s a very poor defense held in the direction of Rocket, who’s standing there with the syringe and trying to reason with her.

ROCKET

Yeah, I’m, uh ... I’m part of the Asgardian science division.

JANE FOSTER

You don’t  look Asgardian.

ROCKET

Now that’s just rude.

JANE FOSTER

(nodding to the syringe)

What’s that supposed to do? Give me the science.

ROCKET

It’s calibrated to recognize the foreign molecular structure of the Aether in your body. It’ll get it outta you.

JANE FOSTER

(slowly lowering the pillow)

Okay, that makes sense....

The door opens, and they both turn to look as Frigga walks in.

ROCKET

(mumbling)

Uh oh.

JANE FOSTER

(relieved)

Perfect timing. Is this raccoon part of Asgard’s science division? He says Thor sent him.

Frigga blinks down at Rocket in surprise, but smiles as she studies him.

FRIGGA

Well.

(beat)

If Thor sent him, I suggest you do as he says.

Rocket gapes at her.

INT. ASGARD - HOLDING CELLS - [THOR 2]

Loki is still laying on his bed, tossing an object in the air.

THOR (O.S.)

Loki.

Loki glances over in surprise, and it quickly turns into a mask of mild disdain as he sees Thor outside the glass.

LOKI

...Brother.

Getting a better look at Thor now, Loki sits up in interest and assesses him more closely. His eyes narrow, and he surveys Thor from head to toe, but he only comments on one thing.

LOKI (CONT’D)

(mildly)

It’s been awhile. Grown a beard, have you?

THOR

(uncomfortable)

No. I mean, yes. I ... I really should not be here. But I think I’m supposed to be.

Loki stands and approaches the edge of the cell, studying Thor carefully.

LOKI

You are ... not my Thor at all, are you? You’re something else. A vision, or a hallucination perhaps.

(beat)

Hm. Maybe I  have been in this cell for far too long.

THOR

Uh ... yes, consider me a vision. How did you know?

Loki rolls his eyes.

LOKI 

You forget I’ve been trained in magic. As Mother says, I see with more than eyes. But as far as “visions” go, I’ve had better ones.

Thor shifts awkwardly under Loki’s knowing gaze.

THOR

Yes, well. Listen carefully, brother. I have a message for you.

LOKI

What are you–

THOR

Loki, listen  carefully to this. Every word.

Loki shuts up for once.

Thor takes a deep breath, and speaks with measured sentences.

THOR

There will come a time when we and our people will be in danger, facing the worst situation and the most loss of life we have ever encountered. You will know because I will be restrained and powerless to stop it, and it will only be the beginning of the suffering to come. You need to survive. Find a way to survive secretly, and come to my aid later. Do you understand?

A long pause.

LOKI

No.

Thor sighs in exasperation.

LOKI (CONT’D)

You do realize none of this makes sense to me?

THOR

Do you  have it , Loki? Can you remember?

LOKI

Yes, yes, I have it. But what–

THOR

Then it will make sense eventually.

(beat)

At least, I hope it will.

(mumbling to self)

If I didn’t just start World War III.

LOKI

(uncomprehending)

Right ...

THOR

Goodbye, brother.

Thor takes one last sad look at him before turning to go.

LOKI

Thor.

Thor turns back around. Loki visibly hesitates, then decides to speak.

LOKI (CON T’D)

(tentative)

Are you ... Are you alright?

Thor smiles at him, but it’s a bit sad.

THOR

Just remember what I said, Loki.

He walks off, and focus remains on Loki’s face. He’s contemplating what just happened. After a moment, Loki rolls up his left sleeve, and with a flame on the edge of a fingertip he draws something on the inside of his wrist. A rune glows, and then fades from view, sinking into his skin.

INT. ASGARD - PALACE - CORRIDOR - DAY - [THOR 2]

Rocket and Frigga emerge from Jane’s room. Rocket’s syringe now clearly contains the red of the Aether.

ROCKET

Alright, what gives? Why’d you help me?

FRIGGA

You’re from the future. I assume you have your reasons, and I read no ill intent in you.

ROCKET

(nervously)

From the future? No, no, I’m not from the future, I ...

Thor jogs around the corner carrying Stormbreaker, and he stares at the sight of Frigga and Rocket together.

THOR

Mum?

FRIGGA

Hello, my son.

Thor comically tries to hide Stormbreaker behind his back.

THOR

I was just, uh–

ROCKET

Oh give it up, Thor. She magically knows somehow.

FRIGGA

Magic is  exactly how.

Frigga opens her arms, and Thor starts to tear up and moves forward quickly into her embrace.

THOR

Mum, I...

Frigga shushes him gently and pulls back to look him over head-to-toe.

FRIGGA

The future hasn’t been kind to you, has it?

Thor shakes his head wordlessly and then takes a deep breath.

THOR

Mum, I have to tell you something.

ROCKET

(warningly)

Thor...

FRIGGA

No, son. You don’t. You’re here to repair your future, not mine.

THOR

But this is about  your future.

FRIGGA

It’s none of my business.

Thor blinks away tears, and Frigga gently traces his face with her hand. They touch their foreheads together, eyes closed.

THOR

(quietly)

I’ve really missed you.

FRIGGA

Then I’m happy you’re here, and that I can give you some comfort.

They hold each other, the moment heavy. And then:

ROCKET (O.S.)

Look, I hate to be that person ... .

Thor and Frigga separate reluctantly and look down at Rocket, who’s standing there awkwardly.

ROCKET (CONT’D)

...but we kinda gotta go.

THOR

(to Frigga)

I wish we had more time.  There’s so much I wish I could talk to you about.

FRIGGA

No, this was a gift. I’m proud of you, Thor.

THOR

(laughing a little)

Oh, you really, really shouldn’t be. I’ve failed.  A lot . And you ... you have no idea what I’ve done, or haven’t done–

Frigga grabs his empty hand between her own, imploring.

FRIGGA

Listen to me.  Everyone fails. Everyone suffers. What matters is that you continued despite that.

Thor lets her words sink in for a moment. And then he nods, just slightly, and gives her a watery smile as he stands a little taller.

THOR

I love you, Mum.

FRIGGA

And I love you.

They hug one more time, and then Thor moves a couple paces away to stand next to Rocket. 

ROCKET

You ready?

Thor lifts his wrist.

ROCKET (CONT’D)

Okay, here we go...

Thor and Rocket activate their suits, and Thor looks to his mom one last time before the helmet engages.

THOR

Goodbye, Mum.

FRIGGA

(softly)

Goodbye.

The helmets close, and as Frigga watches, Thor and Rocket shrink and disappear back into the quantum realm.

EXT. MORAG - ABANDONED CITY - DAY - [GUARDIANS 1]

MUSIC: “Come and Get Your Love” by Redbone. 

Peter Quill dances in the distance of the bleak planet.

CLOSE-UP on Quill as he sings the second “come and get your love” lyric into an Orlani as a makeshift microphone, and then tosses it away.

The music cuts out abruptly, and we see Quill as what he actually looks like, from the perspective of someone watching him in real time: he’s singing a third “come and get your love” offkey, spinning around ridiculously.

As Quill continues to sing offkey in the distance, we pan to show Rhodey and Clint staring at this nonsense. Rhodey is disbelieving, and Clint is amused.

JAMES RHODES

He’s an idiot.

CLINT BARTON

Good music taste though.

CUT TO:

Peter Quill hops and slides forward happily, in his own world, when War Machine’s fist suddenly enters the frame and WHACKS him on the back of the head. Quill falls to the floor, unconscious.

Clint leans down to rummage through Quill’s bag.

JAMES RHODES (O.S.)

Unbelievable.

TIME CUT:

Rhodey and Clint stand in front of the temple doors. Rhodey is holding up the ball of light from Quill’s bag for illumination, and Clint’s opening the door’s mechanism with the cylindrical lock pick Quill used in the original timeline of GOTG1.

The doors slide open slowly, and Clint moves to walk forward before Rhodey puts out an arm to stop him.

JAMES RHODES

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

INT. MORAG - TEMPLE VAULT - DAY - [GUARDIANS]

They stand framed in the doorway, and Clint turns to look at Rhodey in confusion.

JAMES RHODES (CONT’D)

This is the part where spikes come out with skeletons on the end and everything ...

CLINT BARTON

Oh, Indiana Jones, huh?

JAMES RHODES

When you break into a place called the Temple of the Power Stone, there’s gonna be a bunch of boobytraps.

CLINT BARTON

Yeah, you’ve got a point.

Clint takes out his bow and experimentally shoots an arrow into the temple. It hits the opposite wall and clanks to the floor unremarkably.

They exchange dubious glances.

JAMES RHODES

I’m not going first.

Clint rolls his eyes. He creeps forward slowly, comically testing his footsteps one by one, and Rhodey shadows his path. Awkward tip-toeing.

Without incident, they make it to the podium that holds the Orb in its energy field. Rhodey places the ball of light he’s holding on the ground.

Clint assesses the podium, then clicks a couple buttons on his bow. CLOSE-UP on his quiver as it mechanically changes out two arrow tips, and Clint pulls out the arrows.

CLINT BARTON

Get ready to grab it.

JAMES RHODES

Okay.

The arrows buzz. Clint hooks his bow onto his shoulder, then plants the two arrows into the energy beams of the forcefield. He slowly forces the arrows apart, straining. The energy follows the arrows’ electromagnet currents, and a hole opens in the force field.

Rhodey reaches in and makes a grab for the Orb. The tips of the gauntlet’s fingers graze the back of the forcefield and spark orange, about to melt. He hurriedly pulls the Orb free, blowing the sparks out. Clint grunts in exertion, and then blinks in surprise as the forcefield disappears, unneeded now that the Orb is free.

CLINT BARTON

Hey, that wasn’t so–

KORATH (O.S.)

(in Kree)

Drop it!

Rhodey and Clint whirl around to see Korath and his two goons standing in the Temple doorway. Rhodey's faceplate snaps closed and Clint draws his bow.

Korath signals to his goons and says something else in Kree. Clint shoots but Korath neatly dodges the arrow, inhumanly fast, as the guards move forward to flank Rhodey and Clint.

JAMES RHODES

Wha–What did he say?

CLINT BARTON

How would I know?

Korath raises his gun.

KORATH

(in Kree)

I said drop it!

The guards nudge Rhodey and Clint with their guns and they flinch forward.

CLINT BARTON

Guessing he wants the stone.

JAMES RHODES

Well  that’s not gonna happen.

KORATH

(in Kree)

I wasn’t asking.

Korath powers up his gun and takes aim.

CLINT BARTON

Okay, plan?

JAMES RHODES

Down!

Clint hits the ground flat. Rhodey drops the Orb and crosses the suit’s arms in front of him, and the backs of the gauntlets glow red. He kneels and spins his arms around, and red lasers cut into Korath, the guards, and the Temple walls.

Clint gapes at Korath’s body on the ground.

CLINT BARTON

What the hell was that?!

Rhodey stands up as the red lights on the gauntlets die, and cartridges pop out and hit the ground.  Plink plink .

JAMES RHODES

(opening his faceplate)

A one-off.

Dust and stone pieces fall from the lines the lasers made in the walls, and the whole structure groans.

Rhodey and Clint look at each other.

JAMES RHODES (CONT’D)

Time to go.

CLINT BARTON

Yup.

Clint snatches the Orb and scrambles up. They both raise their wrists, their synced quantum suits activate, and back into the quantum realm they go.

EXT. MANHATTAN - SIDE STREET - DAY - [AVENGERS 1]

Steve drops from a building’s fire escape onto the ground, carrying the scepter and his shield.

TONY STARK (O.S.)

Cap ...

Steve turns to see Tony and Scott dejectedly sitting in a bashed-up car that’s covered in debris and has broken windows.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

Sorry buddy, we got a problem.

SCOTT LANG

(scoffs)

Yeah we do.

TIME CUT:

Clearly post-explanation now, Tony is still dejectedly leaning out of the broken car window while Scott is pacing around, and Steve just stands there.

STEVE ROGERS

(exasperated)

Well, what are we gonna do now?

TONY STARK

You know what? Gimme a break, Steve. I just got hit in the head with the  Hulk .

SCOTT LANG

(manic)

You  said that we had  one shot . This? This was our shot. We shot it. It’s  shot ! Six stones or nothing! Six stones or nothing!

TONY STARK

You’re repeating yourself, you know that? You’re repeating yourself.

SCOTT LANG

You’re repeating yourself!  You’re repeating yourself!

Steve turns away in exasperation.

TONY STARK

Dude, come on!

SCOTT LANG

No! You never wanted a time heist, you weren’t on board with the time heist–

TONY STARK

I dropped the ball.

SCOTT LANG

You ruined the time heist!

TONY STARK

Is that what I did?

SCOTT LANG

Yeah!

STEVE ROGERS

Are there any other options with the Tesseract?

SCOTT LANG

No no no. There’s no other  options . There’s no do-overs! We’re not going anywhere else. We have one particle left,  each . That’s it, alright?

That gives Tony an idea. He’s clearly thinking as Scott keeps rambling.

SCOTT LANG (CONT’D, O.S.)

We use that ... bye bye, you’re not going home.

STEVE ROGERS

Yeah, well if we don’t try, then no one else is going home either.

TONY STARK

I got it.

Tony gets out of the car, reinvigorated–and hilariously, he closes the car door. He walks toward Steve intently.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

There’s another way to retake the Tesseract and acquire new particles. Little stroll down memory lane. Military installation, Garden State.

Tony looks at Steve meaningfully, and comprehension dawns on Steve.

STEVE ROGERS

When were they both there?

TONY STARK

They were there at ... I have a vaguely exact idea.

STEVE ROGERS

(exasperated)

How vague?

SCOTT LANG

What are you talking about? Where are we going?

Tony starts fiddling with his quantum wristband.

TONY STARK

“ When ” is a better question. And you’re going elsewhere.

SCOTT LANG

What?

Steve shoots Tony a look and walks over to Scott, handing him the scepter. 

STEVE ROGERS

Scott, get this back to the compound.

Scott takes the scepter on instinct, bewildered.

TONY STARK

We’re improvising.

(to Steve)

Wrist.

Steve holds out his arm and Tony neatly taps their quantum wristbands together.  Beep .

SCOTT LANG

What are we improvising? Hey, excuse me–

TONY STARK

(to Steve)

Sync up.

Tony and Steve raise their wrists and prepare to engage their suits.

STEVE ROGERS

(to Tony)

Are you sure?

SCOTT LANG (O.S.)

Cap. Captain. Steve.

Tony and Steve turn to Scott indulgently.

SCOTT LANG

Sorry, America ... Rogers. Look. If you do this, and it doesn’t work, you’re not coming back.

TONY STARK

Thanks for the pep talk.

Tony and Steve turn back to each other.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

Do you trust me?

STEVE ROGERS

I do.

TONY STARK

Your call.

Steve takes a deep breath.

STEVE ROGERS.

Here we go.

They engage their suits, and a still-confused Scott watches as they go quantum.


	8. 1970

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole chapter takes place in 1970! Yeehaw.  
> If you know these scenes well, feel free to skip down to the scene of Steve in Peggy's office because that's where the edits start.  
> But if you DON'T know these scenes well... maybe still read the first half of Tony and Howard's conversation, because the second half is modified.

EXT. NEW JERSEY WOODS - DAY - [1970]

TITLE:

NEW JERSEY

1970

MUSIC: “Hey Lawdy Mama” by Steppenwolf.

A 1970 Oldsmobile zooms down a wooded road. NJ License plate: 420•LRO. A bumper sticker with mushrooms on it says “NUFF SAID.”  Very 1970.

At the wheel is Stan Lee (48), with long hair, a mustache, and an open shirt. A young woman is in the passenger seat.

As he passes an army base, he yells out the window–

STAN LEE

Hey man! Make love, not war!

EXT. CAMP LEHIGH - DAY - [1970]

The base is heavily gated and guarded.

A sign displays

“UNITED STATES ARMY

CAMP LEHIGH ARMY BASE

78TH INFANTRY DIVISION

BIRTHPLACE OF CAPTAIN AMERICA”

CUT TO:

Inside the gates, Steve and Tony are walking around the facility, looking around. Steve’s in a stolen army uniform and hat, and Tony’s in a stolen suit and his sunglasses. 

TONY STARK

Clearly, you weren’t actually born here, right?

STEVE ROGERS

The idea of me was.

Tony looks through a window at secretaries on typewriters.

TONY STARK

Right. Well, imagine you’re SHIELD, running a... quasi-fascistic intelligence organization. Where do you hide it?

STEVE ROGERS

In plain sight.

Steve nods towards something across the compound, and Tony looks over. It’s a bunker–the one seen in The Winter Soldier, which leads to the SHIELD base underground. As they watch, a man in a suit enters it.

Tony taps the side of his glasses, and a HUD comes up, scanning the bunker using heat signatures to see an elevator going down.

Tony and Steve nod to each other and move forward.

INT. CAMP LEHIGH - ELEVATOR - [1970]

A Black woman–a SHIELD agent–reads from a folder as she stands in the elevator. She eyes Tony and Steve, slightly suspicious.

Tony and Steve look at her from the corner of their eyes, and Tony takes one step forward to try to subtly hide Steve.

The elevator opens.  Ding .

TONY STARK

Good luck on your mission, Captain.

STEVE ROGERS

Good luck on your ... project, Doctor.

Tony strides out of the elevator and gives one last glance back at Steve, tapping his glasses meaningfully as the doors close on his image.

SHIELD WOMAN

You new here?

STEVE ROGERS

...not exactly.

The woman nods pleasantly but gives Steve one last suspicious glance.

INT. CAMP LEHIGH - SHIELD FACILITY - ARCHIVES - [1970]

In the underground warehouse, Tony jogs past rows of classic computers to an area filled with miscellaneous tech and other junk. He uses his glasses to scan various large containers quickly, and the glasses’ HUD doesn’t find a match on the first few. 

But on the fourth container: TARGET ACQUIRED. The Tesseract is inside.

TONY STARK

(whispering)

Gotcha.

Tony grabs a briefcase he sees lying nearby.

TIME CUT:

Nano gauntlet on his hand, Tony uses energy from his fingertips to cut through the bolts keeping the container closed.

From inside the container, we see it open and Tony’s face appears. The Tesseract glows beautifully, and Tony sighs in relief.

TONY STARK

Back in the game.

He grabs the cube and puts it in the briefcase, and as he does so...

HOWARD STARK (O.S.)

Arnim, you in here? Arnim?

Tony looks up sharply and closes the briefcase just as Howard (49) appears in the background, carrying roses and a can of sauerkraut. They notice each other at the same time.

Tony stares for a moment, recognizing his father, then slowly turns and tries to make his escape.

HOWARD STARK

Hey!

Tony stops, nervous.

HOWARD STARK (CONT’D)

Door’s this way, pal.

Tony turns and starts walking towards Howard.

TONY STARK

Oh, yeah.

HOWARD STARK

I’m lookin’ for Dr. Zola. Have you seen him?

TONY STARK

Yeah, no, Dr. Zol ... no, haven’t seen a soul.

(tripping on a chair nervously)

Pardon me.

HOWARD STARK

Do I know you?

Tony puts the briefcase down and takes out ID.

TONY STARK

No, sir, I’m ... a visitor from MIT.

HOWARD STARK

Huh. MIT. 

(beat)

Got a name?

TONY STARK

...Howard.

HOWARD STARK

Well, that’ll be easy to remember.

TONY STARK

Howard ... Potts.

HOWARD STARK

Well, I’m Howard Stark.

TONY STARK

Hi.

Howard offers a handshake and Tony grabs his hand, but Howard retracts all but his index finger so Tony grabs that by accident.

HOWARD STARK

Shake that, don’t pull it.

TONY STARK

(laughing nervously)

Yeah ...

HOWARD STARK

You look a little green around the gills there, Potts.

TONY STARK

I’m fine. Just, long hours.

HOWARD STARK

Wanna get some air?

Tony doesn’t answer, overwhelmed by this bizarre situation.

HOWARD STARK (CONT’D)

Hello? Potts?

TONY STARK

Yeah. That’d be ... swell.

HOWARD STARK

(indicating)

That way.

TONY STARK

Okay.

Tony moves to go towards the exit.

HOWARD STARK

Need your briefcase?

Howard picks it up and hands it to him, and Tony huffs a laugh as he takes it.

INT. CAMP LEHIGH - SHIELD FACILITY - PYM’S LAB - [1970]

CLOSE-UP on an ant farm.

Pan slowly across laboratory equipment and classic Ant-Man gear strewn across a table. Off screen, a phone rings.

HANK PYM (O.S.)

Hello?

We hear Steve speaking from the phone.

STEVE ROGERS ( OVER PHONE )

Dr. Pym?

The pan across the equipment continues as the voices do.

HANK PYM (O.S.)

That would be the number that you called, yes.

STEVE ROGERS ( OVER PHONE )

This is Captain Stevens from shipping. We have a package for you.

The slow pan lands on a young Hank Pym  ( 20s), talking on the phone as he drinks coffee.

HANK PYM

Bring it up.

STEVE ROGERS ( OVER PHONE )

Well, that’s the thing, sir. We can’t.

HANK PYM

I’m confused. I thought that was your job.

STEVE ROGERS ( OVER PHONE )

Well, it’s just ... Sir, the box is glowing, and to be honest, some of our mail guys aren’t feeling that great.

HANK PYM

They didn’t open it, did they?

STEVE ROGERS ( OVER PHONE )

Uh, yeah. They did. You better get down here.

Hank slams the phone down.

INT. CAMP LEHIGH - SHIELD FACILITY - HALLWAY - [1970]

Hank bursts out of his lab, pushing people as he runs down the hall.

HANK PYM

Excuse me, out of the way!

Steve watches him pass from a doorway, then heads towards the lab door.

INT. CAMP LEHIGH - SHIELD FACILITY - PYM’S LAB - [1970]

Steve walks in and closes the door behind him. He searches around the various areas of detritus Hank has piled up, in multiple places.

Then, he catches sight of it: there’s a huge glass case, with small red vials of particles in it.

Steve smiles.

CLOSE-UP on his hand reaching in and grabbing as many vials as he can hold.

INT. CAMP LEHIGH - ELEVATOR 2 - [1970]

Tony and Howard walk into another elevator, Howard still hold ing  the canned food and flowers.

TONY STARK

So, flowers and sauerkraut. You got a big date tonight?

HOWARD STARK

My wife’s expecting. And, uh ... too much time at the office.

Tony registers that with shock, because yeah, the expected kid is ... him.

TONY STARK

...Congratulations.

HOWARD STARK

Thanks. 

As the elevator moves, Howard hands the flowers to Tony so he can straighten his own tie.

HOWARD START (CONT’D)

Hold this, will you?

TONY STARK

(distracted)

Yeah, sure. How far along is she?

HOWARD STARK

Ah, I don’t know ...

(indicates a pregnant belly and shrugs)

She’s at the point where she can’t stand the sound of my chewing. I guess I’ll be eating dinner in the pantry again.

Tony smiles but still looks thrown but all of this. And, almost as if he can’t help but say it:

TONY STARK

I have a little girl.

HOWARD STARK

A girl would be nice. Less of a chance she’d turn out like me.

TONY STARK

What’d be so awful about that?

HOWARD STARK

Let’s just say that the greater good has, uh... rarely outweighed my own self-interest.

Howard pats Tony’s shoulder and walks out of the elevator.

INT. CAMP LEHIGH - SHIELD FACILITY - HALLWAY - [1970]

Steve strides purposefully on his way out, looking around. But in front of him: a SHIELD security man and the female agent from the elevator turn the corner, talking.

SECURITY MAN

And you’ve never seen these two men before?

SHIELD WOMAN

No, I’ve got an eye for this. The two of them looked fishy.

SECURITY MAN

Can you describe them?

SHIELD WOMAN

Well, one of them had a hippie beard.

Steve realizes what’s happening and looks around for an escape, then hides his face as he ducks into a nearby office. The man and woman keep walking by.

SECURITY MAN

Hippie like Bee Gees or Mungo Jerry?

SHIELD WOMAN

Definitely Mungo Jerry.

SECURITY MAN

(in walkie talkie)

Yeah, this is Chesler. I need every available MP on sublevel 6. We have a potential breach.

INT. CAMP LEHIGH - SHIELD FACILITY - PEGGY’S OFFICE - [1970]

Safely hidden, Steve listens up against the office door for a moment. Coast clear, Steve glances at the office behind him and then moves to leave–but something catches his eye.

Steve turns to move further into the office slowly, stunned.

On the desk: pictures of Peggy Carter through the years. Smiling with Jarvis; in SSR uniform, with coworkers; holding her daughter.

Steve turns around to look at the name on the office door. Backwards, on the translucent glass, are the letters

“MARGARET CARTER

DIRECTOR”

Stricken, Steve turns back around. Through the blinds of a window behind the desk, we see another office.

Suddenly, an older Peggy Carter (49) whirls into that other office, arguing animatedly with another agent. She’s no less of a force for her greying hair and wrinkles. Steve stares and moves closer to the window as Peggy picks up a folder to read, right on the other side of the glass.

A split shot: each of them on different sides of the glass, forever apart now.

On Steve: her talking reflection overlays his image behind the glass, and there’s a complex play of emotions on his face. Grief and longing, first. But as Peggy snaps something with authority, it turns to fondness, and pride.

Just as quickly as she arrived, Peggy storms back out in a whirlwind of action, and Steve ducks his head. He sighs, but there’s a slight smile on his face. That’s his best girl.

Steve turns and looks around Peggy’s office again. There are more pictures on a nearby shelf amongst awards, and we see a couple more close up: Peggy in her wedding dress. Peggy with the Howling Commandos, all of them older now.

From the perspective of behind the picture frames, we see Steve walk forward slowly, then reach into his pocket for something. He looks down at his hand.

CLOSE-UP on his hand: he’s holding the compass, and the picture of young Peggy is in it. It now stands in contrast to the other pictures we’ve just seen. This is Peggy from 25 years ago, before this whole life that she’s built and lived. 

On Steve: smiling down at the compass softly, eyes a little shiny with tears.

STEVE ROGERS

(quietly)

Bye, Peg.

CLOSE-UP on and slow pan across the shelf of pictures. We pan past the one of her with the Commandos again, and now: wedged next to it but mostly behind it, the compass sits on the shelf too.

Steve left it behind.

Off screen: the sound of the office door opening and closing.

EXT. CAMP LEHIGH - DAY  \- [1970]

From above, the base is full of activity, with troops marching past and jeeps rolling by. Howard and Tony walk amongst it all, with Tony still carrying the flower bouquet.

TONY STARK

So, where are you at with names?

HOWARD STARK

Well if it’s a boy, my wife likes Elmonzo.

TONY STARK

Huh. Might want to let that stew awhile, you’ve got time.

HOWARD STARK

Let me ask you a question. When your kid was born ... were you nervous?

TONY STARK

Wildly, yeah.

HOWARD STARK

Did you feel qualified? Like you had any idea how to successfully operate that thing?

TONY STARK

I... literally pieced it together as I went along.  Still am, really. I thought about–Well.

HOWARD STARK

What?

TONY STARK

...I thought about how I wished my parents would’ve treated me.

HOWARD STARK

My old man, he never met a problem he couldn’t solve with a belt.  He was tough on me.

TONY STARK

(smiling humorously)

Oh, mine too. I’m, uh... breaking that cycle though.

HOWARD STARK

Well, I figure I turned out alright, so maybe he knew something I didn’t.

TONY STARK

Ah.

HOWARD STARK

Who am I kiddin’ though? Like I said, late nights at the office. The kid’s not even here yet, but I already know I probably won’t see much of it anyway.

Tony just looks at Howard for a moment, considering, and really sees his father fully for the man–and poor parent–he was. And Tony realizes that, for all he feared becoming like his father, he is nothing like Howard at all.

TONY STARK

Y’know, it’s funny ...

(beat)

I’m realizing that two people can share a name and it really doesn’t mean anything. You can still be completely different people.

Howard shrugs, unbothered.

HOWARD STARK

Hey pal, I’ll parent my way and you parent your way.

Tony flashes him another smile, there and gone, entirely fake.

TONY STARK

Exactly.

Howard walks past Tony, and Tony looks up to see Steve standing casually at parade rest off to the side. Steve gives him a thumbs up and nods in question, and Tony points to the briefcase he’s holding and nods back.

EDWIN JARVIS (O.S.)

Are you ready to go, sir?

Tony turns around to see Edwin Jarvis (56) standing there with Howard. Tony blinks, stunned again as Howard takes the flowers from him and hands them to Jarvis.

HOWARD STARK

(to Jarvis)

Yeah, shouldn’t keep the wife waiting.

(offering Tony a handshake)

Good to meet ya, Potts.

Tony shakes his hand, but he’s entirely distracted by Jarvis standing there.

TONY STARK

You too. Uh ... Good luck with the kid.

Howard turns to walk to his car. Jarvis turns to leave too, but Tony stops him.

TONY STARK

Oh hey, um. Jarvis?

EDWIN JARVIS

(turning back)

Yes?

Tony holds his hand out to shake and Jarvis takes it, and then Tony reaches up and gives him an awkward hug.

TONY STARK

Thank you. For everything... you’ve done for the Starks. And this country.

EDWIN JARVIS

(bewildered)

I’m sorry, do I know you?

TONY STARK

(pulling back)

Nope. Just, um ... keep up the good work.

Tony smiles at him–a real one this time–and then walks off, and Jarvis watches him go in confusion. Then Jarvis turns back to go to the car, where Howard is waiting.

HOWARD STARK

Jarvis ... We ever met that guy?

EDWIN JARVIS

I’m not sure. You meet a lot of people, sir.

HOWARD STARK

Seems very familiar. 

(climbing into the car)

Weird beard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We love character development!


	9. Sacrificed Lives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GREAT NEWS: nearly everything left in this "movie" is now completely original! Yay!
> 
> Hope you like it :)

EXT. THE GARDEN - THANOS' HUT - DAY

Closer to the hut now, Natasha and Nebula move their way through the corpses, keeping an eye on the alien-like birds which turn to watch curiously. Natasha’s face is scrunched up at the smell. They climb the wooden stairs to the opening.

INT. THANOS' HUT - DAY

They walk through the doorway, and inside, everything is as it was left–except Thanos’ corpse is just a pile of bones now, licked clean, as is his massive skull.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

This place looks untouched.

NEBULA

The stone must somehow still be here.

YOUNG GIRL’S VOICE

(wavering volume)

How did you know how to find me?

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Lila?

Natasha and Nebula look around but don’t see the source of the voice.

WANDA MAXIMOFF’S VOICE

(waving volume)

All others were drawn by the power, but they did not understand what to seek.

NEBULA

What’s happening?

NATASHA ROMANOFF

The stone. It’s using the voices of people it took in the snap.

NEBULA

We need to find it.

Natasha and Nebula split up to frantically search around the hut. Nebula rummages through a pile of clothes and Natasha unscrews jars in the makeshift kitchen area.

PETER QUILL’S VOICE

(wavering volume)

They were fools, so I drove them mad.

As Natasha moves to look under a cot, Nebula opens a chest to find more cloth that she throws out. At the bottom of the chest is a small box.

NEBULA

Here!

Natasha runs over as Nebula pulls off the box’s lid, and suddenly everything turns to bright yellow light.

INT. THE SOUL WORLD

Natasha and Nebula stand in the Soul World, and they both look around in bewilderment and shock. Nebula gets her bearings first and puts herself back-to-back with Natasha. 

The camera spins around them in a 360º shot: just like Nebula’s dream, they are surrounded by shadowy figures of souls in an endless crowd. And now, the figures are all speaking at once, endless voices eerily layered and wavering.

THE SOUL STONE

I am Soul, one of the six, ruler of sentient life. I am power, and I am destruction. Why do you search for me? Do you look to wield me?

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Yes!

THE SOUL STONE

You do not have the right. I can be given, but I have no master to transfer power to you. And I can never be taken, unless the soul of who you love is sacrificed to me.

INT. THANOS' HUT - DAY

The Soul World disappears, and Natasha and Nebula stand before the chest. A spiral of yellow-orange light rises to emerge from the stone, and they back up hastily. The light hovers over the chest in a twisting, swirling shape, and as the stone speaks, it pulses with the words.

THE SOUL STONE

My power is vaster than you comprehend. Life and death have no meaning. I hunger for souls, and I am made to consume.

Suddenly, the camera darts over to Natasha as she turns to Nebula. Natasha’s eyes flash yellow, and then return to their normal color.

SOUL STONE NATASHA

(in Natasha’s voice)

And I may control.

The soul stone, in control of Natasha, activates the widow bites and lashes out at Nebula. Nebula blocks her but possessed-Natasha lashes out repeatedly, lightning fast. Nebula twists to get Natasha’s legs out from under her and pin her to the ground, putting a knife at Natasha’s throat.

The soul stone laughs, enjoying this.

SOUL STONE NATASHA

Move with caution. You do not wish to hurt your friend.

NEBULA

I’m here to take you regardless of what you say!

SOUL STONE NATASHA

Return to me with whom you love. Feed me their soul as sacrifice, and only then may you wield me.

NEBULA

I  can’t –

SOUL STONE NATASHA

Then you can do nothing, and I remain free.

NEBULA

No. I can’t give you her soul, because she was sacrificed already!

Natasha’s eyes widen.

SOUL STONE NATASHA

Ohhhhh... Oh, I see.

The soul stone leaves Natasha, and Natasha’s face instantly changes. She blinks repeatedly and sucks in a breath, and Nebula backs off immediately and helps her to her feet.

The soul stone speaks again from the twisting spiral of light, and the voice is solely Gamora’s.

THE SOUL STONE

(Gamora’s voice)

And so you could hear her.

Nebula takes a deep breath and speaks deliberately.

NEBULA

The soul of whom I love was fed to you as sacrifice. I have the right to wield you.

The shimmery light twists and turns, considering. And then, when it speaks again, it is with the layered voices like before.

THE SOUL STONE

(layered voices)

I cannot deny you. You may wield my powers over sentience, and you may wield the skills and memories of my souls, but you cannot simply free them from my grasp. I have hungered for millennia, and I revel in being sated.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

We’ll see.

THE SOUL STONE

Your arrogance means nothing. Wielding me alone, you would not be successful.

Nebula strides forward purposefully, tired of listening to this.

NEBULA

Good thing we’ll have the full set then.

She snatches up the stone, and the light disappears.

EXT. THE GARDEN - SPACE

The Benatar leaves The Garden planet’s atmosphere and hits the jump point, on the way back to Earth.

INT. TH E  QUANTUM REALM

Our other heroes zoom through the quantum realm in their suits, joining together from branched-off spots in time.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - HANGER - SUNSET

From above, we see the quantum platform open and the heroes zoom out of it, embiggening. 

PULL BACK: with a shimmer, the hanging metal pieces of the portal settle down and everyone retracts their suits.

CLOSE-UPS on the team as they all look around at each other and the various items they’re holding. Everyone but Natasha and Nebula is present.

BRUCE BANNER

Did we get them all?

CLINT BARTON

(holding up the Orb)

You’re telling me this actually worked?

STEVE ROGERS

For five. Hopefully Natasha and Nebula are on the way with the sixth.

As he speaks, there comes the faint sound of a ship landing outside off screen, and they all look up and over towards the noise.

TONY STARK

Right on time.

EXT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - ENTRANCE - SUNSET

Everyone scrambles out of the door, jogging up to the Benatar which is parked on the lawn. Nebula and Natasha emerge in the ship’s doorway and start walking down the ramp, and everyone starts talking almost at once.

THOR

Did you get it?

STEVE ROGERS

We got the other five–

ROCKET

Was it really there?

Natasha grins and nods her head towards Nebula.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Ask the Chosen One.

Nebula smiles slightly and reaches her hand into her pocket, and then she holds the soul stone out in her hand, palm up.

TONY STARK

(splaying his hands)

Checkmate.

Scott whoops and punches the air.

JAMES RHODES

Hell yes!

With a lot of excited yelling and relieved laughter, everyone swoops forward to pull Natasha and Nebula into a group hug.

CLOSE-UP on Nebula to see that, in the enthusiastic pile-up, her smile widens.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - CONFERENCE ROOM - NIGHT

The hard-won collection of items lies in a hodge-podge on the conference room table: mind stone scepter, Tesseract, pouch with the time stone, the Orb, the syringe with the Aether ... and the soul stone, looking incongruently harmless.

CLINT BARTON (O.S.)

I feel like we’re on Antiques Roadshow.

Almost everyone is sitting around the table. Tony’s standing because he wants to pace, and Rocket is standing on a chair.

SCOTT LANG

Oh, I watched a lot of that show! House arrest, right?

CLINT BARTON

Yup.

TONY STARK

Well I’m ready to turn this trash into treasure, but the good Captain wanted to have a conversation first.

Tony waves to Steve, who’s at the head of the table.

STEVE ROGERS

(nodding to Tony)

I did. We need to figure out how we’re going to handle this.

SCOTT LANG

We’re just bringing everyone back, right?

STEVE ROGERS

A lot more than that needs to be fixed. Bruce?

Bruce taps a few things on a tablet he’s holding, and holo-displays come up showing various article headlines. A few of them: “Vanishing Introduces Sanitation Concerns.” “Five Years Later, Crisis Of Resources Continues.” “Death Toll Caused By Vanishing Impossible To Regulate, Officials Say.”

BRUCE BANNER

The world is in shambles, even 5 years later. There are a lot of things that need to be fixed... and according to the Ancient One, we also have to find a way to put the stones back in time.

SCOTT LANG

More time travel?

JAMES RHODES

Maybe not. It’s like wishing on a genie, right? We do a lot of research, make a list, and cover as much as we can when using the stones.

ROCKET

This is all a very Earth-centric point of view, humies. You’re forgetting somethin’. There’s a whole  universe out there.

On Steve: arms folded and jaw clenched as he listens to all of this. He’s looking down at the table, and we keep the focus on him visually as the others discuss.

THOR (O.S.)

Yes, exactly. And what of those Thanos killed in his quest for the stones? Like my people, and my brother?

NEBULA (O.S.)

And Xandar.

CLINT BARTON (O.S.)

Well, if we keep the focus broad enough, maybe we can fix all of it.

Steve looks up to glance at Natasha, who’s been silent.

JAMES RHODES (O.S.)

This could turn into a lot of wishes. Now we’re talking about playing God.

On Natasha: she’s already looking back at Steve solemnly. They’re on the same page. 

SCOTT LANG (O.S.)

Time travel  was playing God–

The camera’s focus changes: behind Natasha, Tony is pacing, also silent.

THOR (O.S.)

Are you suggesting I  don’t help my people? When I have the means to–

BRUCE BANNER (O.S.)

Okay, hold on–

Back on Steve, who’s pinching the bridge of his nose.

ROCKET (O.S.)

There are parts of the universe  none of us know about–

STEVE ROGERS

We need to go back.

Silence. 

PULL BACK: everyone at the table is looking at him now, except Tony, who’s staring out of the glass window.

SCOTT LANG

What?

STEVE ROGERS

We need to go back. To before Thanos even got any of the stones, and before he killed people to get them.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(heavily)

To 2018. The past 5 years never should’ve existed.

Everyone absorbs that, looking around at each other. Thor looks overcome with the knowledge that the slaughter of the Asgardians could be undone.

JAMES RHODES

Wait, but wouldn’t that mean ... that kids...

Rhodey looks over at Tony, who turns around, bitter smile on his face.

STEVE ROGERS (O.S.)

Tony...

TONY STARK

Nope.

Tony abruptly turns and walks out of the room.

STEVE ROGERS

(getting up)

Tony!

Steve follows him, and Rhodey moves to stand too, but Natasha puts out a hand to stop him.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Give it a minute.

Rhodey sits back down but looks frustrated.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - COMMON ROOM - NIGHT

Tony strides away and Steve follows right behind him.

STEVE ROGERS

Tony–

Tony stops and whirls around.

TONY STARK

No. None of you get to ask this of me, but  especially not you, Rogers.

(points at him)

Not you.

Steve just looks at him, jaw clenched and emotionally torn, but holding firm. He won’t ask what Tony means by that. They may have forgiven each other years ago, but in some ways, the hurt will always run deep.

Tony turns away sharply again, frustrated by the situation but also by his outburst.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

(whispering)

Damn it.

STEVE ROGERS

Tony, look at the world around us. We’re living in a dystopia. You  know we are.

Tony doesn’t turn back around, and Steve moves closer imploringly.

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D)

Nearly everyone is suffering from grief, or trauma, and we’ve barely scratched the  surface of the clean-up effort in 5 years. If we brought those people back to the world we’re in now, it’d only get worse. And that’s just  our planet.

There’s a pause. Steve stares at Tony in desperation, and Tony doesn’t even want to look at him, arms crossed. But finally, he turns back around.

TONY STARK

You know, I always kind of figured I’d end up sacrificing my life to save the world one way or another. I’d come close before, but look at me.

(gestures to himself)

Still here. I beat the odds so many times, I guess the universe is finally cashing in.

(beat)

I just never expected it’d be like this.

STEVE ROGERS

Tony... I’m sorry.

TONY STARK

(breezily)

No you’re not. But I know you  think you are. That’s almost worse.

Steve ducks his head as Tony rubs his hands down his face tiredly.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

God. And the bitch of it all is ... you’re right. Okay? I  know you’re right. And it’s not your fault. I need to not take it out on you.

STEVE ROGERS

(smiling sadly)

I’d let you if you wanted to, you know. I get it.

TONY STARK

Yeah, I know you would. Stop being so damn  good , Steve. Jesus, it just makes me want to punch you even more.

(sighs)

I need to talk to Pepper.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - CONFERENCE ROOM - NIGHT

Everyone else is still sitting around the table, uncomfortable and upset on Tony’s behalf.

SCOTT LANG

God , this  sucks . Isn’t there another way? I mean, if it was Cassie ...

NATASHA ROMANOFF

It’s the only way. Tony already knows that.

Rhodey gets up wordlessly and walks out of the room.

BRUCE BANNER

(sighs)

We still have to decide who’s going to actually use the stones.

THOR

It’s not a decision at all, is it? Is anyone else here a god? I don’t think so. And as king, I should do it to save my people.

BRUCE BANNER

But the radiation’s mostly gamma. I’m uniquely equipped to handle it.

NEBULA

No.

BRUCE BANNER

(insistently)

No, it is. I’ve run tests–

NEBULA

No. It needs to be me.

A pause.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Because of the soul stone?

NEBULA

Because I deserve to.

THOR

(defensive)

Thanos slaughtered my–

NEBULA

Thanos stole me as a child and pulled me apart over and over again for my entire life. He tortured me and replaced my body parts with machinery just because he could.

(beat)

I have very little organic matter left in my body. So I can survive it. And I deserve to be the one to do it.

Heavy silence. Nobody even tries to argue with that.

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - TONY’S LAB - NIGHT

CLOSE-UP on the time stone’s pouch, at the bottom of a glass case. Two robotic metal claws come into view; one picks it up, and the other easily pulls out the green time stone.

Tony, behind the claws, is casually manipulating holograms around his hands. His fingers are pinched, dictating where the claws go.

TIME CUT:

A cracked piece of the scepter is now in the case, and the claws carefully pull the yellow mind stone out of its casing much more slowly. Behind the claws, Tony is focused and anxious.

TIME CUT:

Tony holds the Aether syringe up to the light and looks at the swirling red inside it in trepidation. He makes a “yikes” face, and flips his phone out of his pocket. CLOSE-UP on the phone: dialing Dr. Jane Foster.

TIME CUT: 

On the bottom of the case, metal claws move the blue space stone away from glass shards of a broken Tesseract.

TIME CUT:

A larger metal claw descends from above to pull the top of the Orb off with brute force, revealing the purple power stone. Tony jumps nervously when it cracks open.

TIME CUT:

And lastly ... A claw carefully holds up the soul stone alone. The focus changes from the stone to Tony behind it, as he stares at it with heavy sadness; there are souls in there.

Tony blows out a breath. The claw moves forward and puts the soul stone into place almost reverently, next to the rest of the stones–which we now see are lined up neatly on a small metal platform.

CUT TO:

Tony and Nebula are sitting on stools in the workshop, and Tony is working on a curved nanobot reactor. He holds it up to Nebula’s left bicep, measuring, and then puts it back on the table to make an adjustment with small tools.

TONY STARK

(quietly)

You don’t have to do this, you know.

NEBULA

Yes, I do.

Tony puts down his tools and looks up at her.

TONY STARK

And what if it kills you? After everything you’ve worked to build?

NEBULA

It won’t. What Thanos put me through... It’s become my strength, and it  will be his downfall.

Tony studies her, and then he nods and goes back to work.

Silence for a moment, and then:

NEBULA (CONT’D)

(hesitantly)

I’m sorry, Tony. About Morgan.

Tony doesn’t react, and Nebula slowly reaches out to put a hand on his shoulder. Tony pauses his work and then puts his hand over hers, closing his eyes.


	10. Justice

INT. AVENGERS COMPOUND - TONY’S LAB - DAY

CLOSE-UP on the stones, lined up on the metal platform in the middle of a thin table. 

Pan up: Nebula is standing and looking down at them. There’s a device on her right wrist, and the nanobot reactor is embedded in her left bicep.

JAMES RHODES (O.S.)

You sure about this?

NEBULA

I’m sure.

The camera pans over as Tony walks up. As he passes Rocket, Rocket reaches up to hand Tony a device that Tony starts strapping to his left wrist. Tracking shot as Tony walks around behind Nebula, talking to her, giving us a better look at the room.

TONY STARK

The bots can hold the stones, but this is no fancy space gauntlet. It’s not made to harness enough energy to light up a continent, so do it fast.

Everything else in the lab/workshop has been pushed to the perimeter of the room and the area has been cleaned up. Everyone but Nebula is standing a few steps away from the table, suited up in uniforms, or armor with helmets open.

BRUCE BANNER

(to Nebula)

And remember, focus on both things: send everyone in this room back to 2018, and send everything but the soul stone back where they came from to fix the timelines.

Steve holds up his left wrist too, indicating a device on it–the same kind Rocket handed Tony to strap on. He looks around the room.

STEVE ROGERS

(to everyone)

Stay safe. Keep in contact. We don’t want any surprises.

(to Nebula)

Are you ready?

Nebula nods and takes a deep breath. She reaches her left arm out with her palm over the stones, and double taps the reactor on her bicep. Nanobots comes out of it and start creeping down her arm, creating makeshift armor.

Steve, in uniform and to the right of Nebula, holds up the shield. 

Pan to Steve’s left, and around the room one by one. 

Behind Nebula: Thor, in armor and an eyepatch and with beautifully braided hair, hefts Stormbreaker in one nervous hand. Thor nudges Rocket behind him, and Rocket puts goggles on. Bruce braces himself. 

On Nebula’s left side, Rhodey and Scott both snap their helmets closed. 

And across from her, Tony double taps his arc reactor to activate his suit. He holds up a holographic shield in front of him so Clint and Natasha move behind him.

Back on Nebula: her whole left arm is armored now. The bots are reaching out in tendrils to grab the stones and pull them into position on her hand as a “gauntlet.”

At first, everything’s fine... but then as soon as the stones settle, the whole thing lights up with bolts of multicolored energy and she doubles over her hand with the force of it.

Nebula grits her teeth and tries to close her fist, but the powerful energy is overwhelmingly too much, crackling all over. She screams and folds over more; the energy pulses, wrapping over and through the bots on her arm. Tendrils of energy start to crawl up and into her neck, shaking her with the force of it.

ROCKET

(panicked)

Take it off!  Take it off!

TONY STARK

Nebula, are you–

NEBULA

I can do it, I–

Nebula screams again as the energy sizzles. Even through the bots’ protection it’s now charring parts of her arm, and it moves down her neck as well to travel over her ribs.

ROCKET

(yelling)

She needs help!

Rocket dodges around Thor and runs towards Nebula’s right side, and he hops up onto the end of the table to get close to her. Nebula puts her right hand out towards him, trying to urge him to stay away.

NEBULA

Get back, Rocket!

The lightning-like energy envelopes her further as she still struggles to close her left fist.

Rocket doesn’t listen; he reaches out and grabs her right hand. Immediately, the crackling energy shifts and slides down Nebula’s right arm to begin to travel down Rocket’s arm too. He screams, and falls to his knees on the table, but hangs on.

STEVE ROGERS

(to everyone else)

Come on!

Steve moves forward to grab Nebula and Rocket’s joined hands, and grits his teeth as the energy starts to overtake him too.

Everyone else rushes to them. 

Tony moves around the table to clasp Steve’s shoulder. Across from them, Clint grabs onto Rocket, and Natasha grabs onto Clint. 

From behind Nebula, Thor wraps a strong hand around her stomach and Bruce puts a strong arm on her back, propping her up.

On their left, Scott grabs onto Bruce’s arm, so Rhodey grabs onto Scott and then Natasha in turn.

They form a makeshift circle, touching all around the table. The multicolored energy is spread out now like erratic lightning, traveling around and over all of them–but now the severity of the power has lessened, even as they all brace themselves and gasp with exertion.

Supported now, Nebula stands tall and raises her left arm high in the air, chest heaving. Wreathed in light, everyone looks up at the stones.

Nebula yells again in determination–more effort than pain, this time–and as the energy pulses one last time... she manages to close her fingers into a fist. Not a snap, because she’d never willingly emulate Thanos; a fist, for her justice and everyone else’s.

The stones glow, blindingly bright, and the world goes white and silent.

INT. THE SOUL WORLD

Nebula stands in the complete stillness of the Soul World, and she looks down at herself: no gauntlet, no stones, no injuries.

Nebula looks around; Gamora is in front of her, a short distance away. The silhouettes of the other souls around them are present once again, but this time, they’re completely still and silent. The souls stand there, faceless witnesses, waiting and no longer restless.

GAMORA

Did you do it?

NEBULA

Yes.

Gamora grins and runs up to her to hug her, and Nebula hugs her back tightly with no hesitation.

GAMORA

Then I’ll see you soon, sister.

Gamora pulls back and smiles at Nebula one last time. Nebula smiles back, and the Soul World dissolves around them.

EXT. SANCTUARY II - SPACE

TITLE: 2018

Thanos’ war ship drifts through space menacingly.

INT. SANCTUARY II - CARGO HOLD

The 2018 version of Nebula is creeping through a dark room; she snuck aboard Thanos’ ship to try to kill him. We follow her from behind in the dark as she heads towards an open doorway a dozen feet away.

But suddenly, 2018 Nebula’s body shimmers, turning transparent. As she fades out, 2023 Nebula shimmers into her place ... and immediately crumples to the floor with a thump, out of frame.

BLACK SCREEN

NEBULA’S POV: the view from her eyes flutters into focus. It’s wavering and blurry, but slowly solidifies; her arms are splayed on the floor. Her right arm has patches of blackened burns, and the left arm and hand in particular are charred down to smoking skeletal bits.

Pockmarked nanobots around her left arm, leftover from the “gauntlet,” are making an attempt at reforming. She turns her left hand a bit to see her knuckles, where the stones had sat: all are gone, returned to their correct timelines ... except for faint orange particles that rise into the air and wink out of existence. The remains of the soul stone, reduced to atoms.

PULL BACK: Nebula struggles to her hands and knees, blackened with burns in various places on her body. She double taps the nanobot reactor on her left arm so the bots retreat, and then she drags herself upward.

In the distance comes the sound of clanking footsteps. Nebula stumbles her way into hiding behind a large metal container, bumping into it on the way.

A Chitauri guard heard her; it stops in the doorway to the room, haloed in light. The guard moves forward into the room slowly, listening intently.

Nebula hunkers down low in the dark, breathing hard. With her injured left fingers, she shakily takes off the communicator on her right wrist and hides it behind her.

There’s a quiet pause as she waits. Maybe she’s safe?

She’s not. BOOM: the Chitauri looks around the crate and sees her, and it shrieks in alien language. Nebula tries to bolt the other way and fails, failing to the ground quickly. Another Chitauri guard comes running in, drawn by the shouts, and they both grab her.

The guards literally drag her out of the door with iron-clad grips as she struggles and gasps in pain.

NEBULA

(terrified)

No! Let me go!  No!

As her last shout echoes uselessly ... CLOSE-UP on the communicator from her wrist, cracked on the ground and hidden in shadow.


	11. Hello Again

INT. THE BENATAR - LOWER DECK

MUSIC: “Livin’ Thing” by Electric Light Orchestra.

Adolescent Groot is sitting in a chair, playing his video game. Drax is sitting on the other side of the room, eating a zargnut snack and sharing it with Mantis, who’s standing next to him. 

2018 Rocket stands at the base of the ladder that leads to the cockpit, checking over a gun and muttering to himself.

2018 ROCKET

Stupid thing... jammed earlier ... piece a’ junk...

Mid-mutter, 2018 Rocket shimmers in and out of view–gun and all–and 2023 Rocket takes his place. The camera angle changes so we see him from the front now; he has his back to everyone else in the room and he doesn’t see them at first.

Rocket looks down at his body and pats himself in relief.

ROCKET

(sighing)

It worked.

From behind him, Mantis gasps.

GROOT

(curiously)

I am Groot?

Rocket turns to look at Groot, shaken to see him after so long now. Behind him, Mantis is whispering to Drax and pointing to Rocket.

ROCKET

Oh, wow. Uh ... Yeah, my clothes are–

DRAX

(clambering to his feet)

What manner of WITCHCRAFT is this?!

Rocket jumps and whirls around.

ROCKET

Holy sh–

DRAX

IMPOSTER! Who are you?!

Drax pulls out his knives from his boots as Mantis looks on nervously.

ROCKET

What? I’m not an imposter, lemme  explain–

DRAX

That is  exactly what an imposter would say!

Rocket cackles suddenly and obnoxiously, gleeful with hysteria and relief.

ROCKET

Drax, you’re so ... you’re such a frickin’  moron , you know that? I ever tell you that you’re stupid? You’re AN IDIOT!

Drax lowers his knives a bit in confusion.

DRAX

Yes, you ... you have said that, once or twice ...

MANTIS

(in hushed awe)

The imposter is very convincing...

DRAX

(lifting his knives again)

And I will NOT BE FOOLED!

ROCKET

LISTEN, moron–

Peter Quill and Gamora come clamoring down the ladder from the flight deck.

PETER QUILL

(yelling)

Hey, HEY! What’s going on?! No  knives , Jesus–

GAMORA

Drax, you  know there’s a rule. Put the knives away.

Drax begrudgingly puts his knives away.

Rocket stares up at Quill and Gamora in dazed amazement. The shock is hitting him now; this is his family, and he hasn’t seen any of them in 5 years.

ROCKET

Wow . Okay, I ... I’m gonna sit down.

Rocket slowly sinks down to the floor of the ship as everyone looks on in confusion.

GROOT

(concerned)

I am Groot?

Groot reaches out a tendril to tentatively touch Rocket’s arm, and Rocket grips it in one small hand.

ROCKET

I’m okay.

PETER QUILL

Alright, what’s going on?

(to Rocket)

And what the hell happened to your clothes?

MANTIS

(helpfully)

The imposter called Drax stupid.

PETER QUILL

The imposter?

ROCKET

(shakily, to Gamora)

Your father’s a real asshole, you know that?

GAMORA

What?

Rocket scrubs his hands down his face.

PETER QUILL

Are you  crying ?

ROCKET

( tearfully defensive )

Give me a minute! I haven’t seen you in 5 years!

INT. SCOTLAND - MOTEL ROOM - NIGHT

2018 Steve and Natasha are in a basic motel room with Sam Wilson, all of them in casual clothes as they pack up their stuff into duffel bags. Steve and Natasha are packing their bags on one bed; Sam, with his back to them, is packing his on another bed.

2018 STEVE

We should’ve heard from Wanda by now.

2018 NATASHA

She’s overdue for a check-in.

SAM WILSON

(turning around)

Look, it’s too early to stress about it. I’m sure she’s–

He cuts himself off as 2018 Steve and Natasha shimmer and fade. Even as they’re still fading, Sam immediately reaches behind him to pull a gun out of his bag. He cocks it as the 2023 counterparts appear in uniform.

Steve and Natasha put their hands up, Steve dropping the shield to do so. 

STEVE ROGERS

Whoa, whoa! Sam, it’s us!

SAM WILSON

Yeah okay, like I’m gonna believe that. What the hell are you?

NATASHA ROMANOFF

We’re from the future, but it’s us.

SAM WILSON

Bullshit. Prove it.

STEVE ROGERS

Uh ... first thing you recommended to me was Marvin Gaye’s music.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

You hate pineapple on pizza because you’re boring.

Sam scrutinizes them but then he slowly puts his gun down, and they lower their arms.

SAM WILSON

No, I hate it because it’s disgusting. And the future?  Seriously?

STEVE ROGERS

It’s a long story.

SAM WILSON

What–

Steve abruptly moves forward and pulls Sam into a tight hug, and Sam hugs him back even though he’s bewildered.

STEVE ROGERS

(quietly)

It’s really good to see you, Sam.

SAM WILSON

Alright, what happened?

Steve pulls back and Natasha nudges him out of the way.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

Move, it’s my turn. Go make your call.

Steve sits on the bed as Natasha moves to hugs Sam. Steve hurriedly fiddles with a bracelet of Wakandan kimoyo beads on his wrist, which he kept for all those years. A hologram pops up to show a call is being dialed.

STEVE ROGERS

(mumbling impatiently)

C’mon...

NATASHA ROMANOFF (O.S.)

We haven’t seen you in 5 years.

SAM WILSON (O.S.)

Okay, that’s even weirder and  still not an explanation. What happened?

A small video chat hologram emerges from Steve’s bracelet. On the screen facing him is Bucky Barnes.

BUCKY BARNES

Steve?

Steve closes his eyes for a moment like hearing that is balm on a wound, and he exhales in relief. He opens his eyes and smiles softly at Bucky.

STEVE ROGERS

Hey, Buck. Been awhile.

BUCKY BARNES

No it hasn’t. We talked an hour ago. What’s wrong?

Sam sticks his head next to Steve so Bucky can see him.

SAM WILSON

That’s what  I want to know. 

(to Natasha)

How am I the only one who’s lived through time normally now?

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(smirking)

Get comfortable, boys. It’s a hell of a story.

INT. BARTON HOME - BEDROOM - DAY

2018 Clint is in his and Laura’s bedroom, changing his shirt because he’s sweaty from working outside. As he rolls his clean shirt on, 2018 Clint’s image shimmers/fades away and 2023 Clint takes his place.

Clint looks around and blinks, taking it all in with shock like it’s too good to be true. Then he bolts out of the room. Off screen, his footsteps pound on the stairs.

CLINT BARTON (O.S.)

(yelling)

Honey?

INT. BARTON HOME - KITCHEN - DAY

Laura Barton is organizing some dishes on the counter, humming to herself. 

LAURA BARTON

Kitchen!

Clint bolts into the kitchen, and she turns around, startled.

LAURA BARTON (CONT’D)

What’s–

Clint grabs her to him in a tight hug.

CLINT BARTON

Oh my God ... Laura...

LAURA BARTON

(bewildered)

Honey, what happened?

Clint pulls back and gives her a deep kiss, then looks around frantically.

CLINT BARTON

Where ... Where are the kids? I need to see the kids.

Laura’s hands flutter between Clint’s arms and shoulders, and then she holds his face as she tries to calm him down.

LAURA BARTON

Shh, look at me. The kids are at school. Everything’s fine. 

(beat)

Wait, what happened to your  hair ?

Clint takes a deep breath and smiles at her shakily, eyes shining with tears.

CLINT BARTON

You’re not gonna believe me when I tell you.

EXT. THE STATESMAN - SPACE

The ship of the surviving Asgardians floats through space.

INT. THE STATESMAN - THOR’S OFFICE

2018 Thor and Loki are in Thor’s office, as seen at the end of Thor: Ragnarok. 2018 Thor is sitting at the desk, rifling through stacks of parchment, and clearly exhausted.

2018 THOR

And where are we with the inventory of the grains again?

Loki moves to the side table to pour them drinks.

LOKI

Nearly finished. Heimdall will tell us when and where is best to stop for more.

2018 THOR

(yawning)

Good. That’s good.

Loki grabs the tumblers of alcohol and turns to bring one to Thor.

LOKI

Brother, you’ve done enough for today. You need to...

Loki trails off as 2018 Thor shimmers and fades away, replaced by 2023 Thor, who’s visibly different in both outfit and physique.

Thor stands up from the chair hastily and drops Stormbreaker onto the desk with a  clunk . He stares at Loki like he’s seeing a ghost, and Loki blinks at him in recognition.

THOR

Loki ...

Thor rounds the desk and stalks towards Loki.

LOKI

Oh, hello again. Did it work?

Thor ignores Loki’s question and pulls him into a rough hug, and Loki makes a noise of surprise. Then Thor pulls back hastily, having just processed Loki’s question.

THOR

Wait, hold on. Did what work?

LOKI

Whatever you were doing when you visited me in Asgard’s cells.

THOR

(confused)

You remember that? But you shouldn’t. They said it’d be undone.

Loki smirks and rolls up his sleeve, touching his forearm. The rune he drew there glows.

LOKI

I’m sure it  was undone, but I kept the memory with a simple spell. My future time of death seemed worthy of remembrance.

THOR

What? I don’t ... I don’t understand.

LOKI

Well, if you’d traveled back to tell me  not to die, obviously I always planned to die anyway.

THOR

(frustrated)

Did you ... Would you have  died to spite me?  Loki .

Loki sighs, rolling his eyes.

LOKI

Thor, by trying to tell me to survive... all you  really did was tell me when to sacrifice myself. I’ve lived with that knowledge for years. I had to die, so that you would live to make things right.

Thor stares at him.

LOKI (CONT’D)

(waving a hand)

...Maybe just take my word for it.

Thor shakes his head and puts a hand to his forehead, thinking.

THOR

No, no ... you warned me, at the time. I thought at first you faked your death again, but... Maybe this is what you meant.

LOKI

Oooh, that was clever of me. How did I warn you?

THOR

You said, “The sun will shine on us again.”

Loki grins at Thor, mischievous but sincere, and splays his hands to gesture at the two of them.

LOKI

And was I not correct? Indeed it shall.

Slowly, Thor grins back at Loki, and laughs a little in disbelief. He reaches out to grip Loki’s shoulder tightly, giving it a fond little shake.

THOR

Yes, brother. Indeed it shall.

INT. SCOTT LANG’S APARTMENT - DINING ROOM - MORNING

Luis, Cassie, and 2018 Scott are sitting at the table, playing Uno intently.

Luis, who’s holding two cards, hums to himself and then places one card down on the pile.

CASSIE LANG

(pointing to Luis)

Take two! You didn’t say Uno!

Luis groans.

2018 SCOTT

Oooh, she got you buddy.

CASSIE LANG

Ha!

LUIS

(taking 2 cards)

I was just concentrating, alright? Strategy. I got a plan.

Suddenly, 2018 Scott shimmers and disappears, with 2023 Scott in the Ant-Man suit taking his place. Cassie squeaks in surprise.

CASSIE LANG

(worried)

Daddy?!

Scott pops open the suit’s helmet and gasps, patting himself.

LUIS

Whoa , what was–what was that bro?

Scott looks up at Cassie, and relaxes once he sees that she’s young again.

SCOTT LANG

Hey, peanut. It’s me. It’s alright.

LUIS

Was that–Is this an alien thing?

SCOTT LANG

What? No, it’s not an alien thing–

CASSIE LANG

(confused)

Are you okay?

SCOTT LANG

I’m okay, Cassie. Promise.

CASSIE LANG

Okay.

LUIS

Is it, like ... like Star Trek? Is it one of those things? Beam me up, Scotty?

SCOTT LANG

No, it’s not–I just came back from the  future , not  space .

LUIS

The future? Like Hot Tub Time Machine? Do you have, like, a message to give me? ‘Cause if you know how I’m gonna die, don’t tell me man. I like living in the  moment, y ’know what I’m sayin’?

A pause. Scott just looks at Luis, smiling a little. The classic Luis rambling is familiar, and a welcome relief to hear again.

SCOTT LANG

Man... 

(beat)

It’s really good to see you.

INT. STARK RESIDENCE - PENTHOUSE SUITE - DAY

2018 Tony and Pepper are in their bedroom. They’ve just come back from exercising in Central Park. Their outfits are similar to when we saw them in the Park in Infinity War; it had been a routine of theirs.

Tony’s sitting on the bed, taking off his shoes. Pepper’s shoes are off and in her hand as she heads for her huge walk-in closet.

PEPPER POTTS

Oh, and remind me to call May later.

TONY STARK

For what?

PEPPER POTTS (O.S.)

May called Happy about the dress code for Peter’s internship ceremony, and he told her it’s formal attire. It’s supposed to be business casual!

TONY STARK

(standing up)

Well, if she shows up in a gown it won’t be the end of–

Mid-sentence, 2018 Tony shimmers and disappears, and 2023 Tony appears in his place in the Iron Man armor. He retracts the helmet and looks around with conflicting emotions, then taps the reactor to retract the suit too, leaving him in normal clothes.

Pepper emerges from the closet, talking casually.

PEPPER POTTS

What if she rents Peter a tux by accident? Could you imagine how weird they’d ... feel...

She trails off as she gets a good look at Tony, who’s evidently not only wearing different clothes but is slightly older, and upset.

PEPPER POTTS (CONT’D)

Tony?

TONY STARK

(brokenly)

Hey, honey.

Pepper comes closer to him and assesses him, eyes flitting everywhere.

PEPPER POTTS

Tony, you’re ... different. What...

TONY STARK

It’s me, I promise.

PEPPER POTTS

Okay, now you’re scaring me. What is this? Are you ... Where did you go?

TONY STARK

Pep, I... I have to tell you something. A lot of somethings, actually, but mostly a big one.

PEPPER POTTS

Oh, God. Okay. What?

TONY STARK

Lucky for me, you love me more than I deserve, so I don’t have to tell you myself. Not twice, anyway.

Tony lifts his shirt to take out an envelope he had tucked into the waistband of his pants. 

CLOSE-UP on the envelope. The front of it says “For Pepper” in cursive.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

(handing it to her)

Here.

PEPPER POTTS

Tony ... This is  my handwriting.

TONY STARK

Yeah. And I know you’re beyond confused right now, but this will explain everything. Please read it, okay? Just ... do that for me. And I really, really hope you don’t hate me by the time you’re finished.

Pepper is bewildered. The communicator on Tony’s wrist beeps, and he taps it to answer the call. Rhodey's voice emerges from it.

JAMES RHODES (OVER COM)

Tony? You okay?

TONY STARK

Are you at the wizard’s place?

PEPPER POTTS

Is that Rhodey? Tony, what’s going on–

JAMES RHODES (OVER COM)

Not yet, but I’m on my way.

TONY STARK

Okay, I’ll be right there.

PEPPER POTTS

Tony, what are you–

Tony starts backing out of the room.

TONY STARK

I gotta go. Please try to remember I love you.

PEPPER POTTS

(gaping at him)

Are you  kidding me?!

TONY STARK

Just read that, okay? Please. I’m sorry.

EXT. SANCTUM SANCTORUM - SIDEWALK - DAY

Rhodey is standing on the sidewalk outside of the Sanctum, arms crossed, and Tony abruptly lands next to him in the Iron Man suit.

JAMES RHODES

Wow. I took an Uber.

TONY STARK

Didn’t want to keep you waiting, honey bear.

Tony double-taps his chest reactor to retract the suit again.

JAMES RHODES

So, uh. How did Pep take it?

TONY STARK

(faking nonchalance)

Don’t know yet. I gave her the letter and left like a coward.

JAMES RHODES

Hey, no. Tony, listen to me ... Thank you . What you did just saved trillions. And Pepper’s smart, alright? She’ll understand that.

TONY STARK

(unconvinced)

Maybe.

Rhodey pulls him into a hug.

JAMES RHODES

I’m proud of you.

Tony hugs him back tightly for a moment, eyes closed. Then he pulls back and hastily wipes his eyes. Rhodey claps him on the arm and Tony squares his shoulders, looking up at the Sanctum. Deep breath.

TONY STARK

Okay. Showtime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is subtitled LET! THEM! HUG!


	12. New Plan

INT. SANCTUM SANCTORUM - FOYER - DAY

A large globe made of “mystic arts” light floats in the center of the foyer. On the glowing United States, a handful of bright dots are scattered around it–two in New York, one in California, one in the Midwest. And in Scotland, there are also two dots.

Doctor Strange walks around the globe and hovers his hand over the spots in the United States in particular. Wong stands nearby, looking between the globe and his phone.

DOCTOR STRANGE

(mumbling to himself)

The pulses of energy were strong, but disappeared as quickly as they arrived ... and the media’s been quiet. Something definitely happened, but now it seems to be hiding.

(to Wong)

Anything new?

WONG

About this? No. Media’s still quiet. But the deli on the corner has a new tuna melt sandwich I’ve just ordered for delivery. It looks  delicious .

Strange gives Wong a look. And as he does, the doorbell rings.

They both look at the door, and then back at each other, eyebrows raised in surprise.

WONG

That was fast.

EXT. SANCTUM SANCTORUM - DOORWAY - DAY

Strange opens the door to see Tony and Rhodey standing there.

TONY STARK

Hi.

Strange looks at them warily; he knows who they are, but  them knowing  him ? That’s unexpected.

DOCTOR STRANGE

Tony Stark and Colonel Rhodes. To what do I owe the pleasure?

TONY STARK

The end of the universe as we know it, except... not.

DOCTOR STRANGE

Care to elaborate?

Tony leans around Strange to point to the globe glowing in the foyer.

TONY STARK

I’m here to talk about  that .

Strange narrows his eyes and considers him.

DOCTOR STRANGE

Alright, you can come in.

EXT. SANCTUARY II - SPACE

Thanos’ ship floats along through a nebula.

INT. SANCTUARY II - CELL

The gates to a cell retract, and Thanos strides in.

Nebula is hanging mid-air in the cell, mutinous but immobilized–and clearly still injured, parts of her blackened and cracked with burns. The nanobots reactor is still embedded in her left bicep.

Ebony Maw stands by holo-screens nearby, hands folded, and ducks his head in respect when Thanos enters.

Thanos walks around Nebula slowly as he speaks.

THANOS

Ah, my errant daughter returns... and worse for wear. What did you do to yourself?

NEBULA

(forcefully)

I’m  not your daughter.

Thanos stops walking, a looming threat. Nebula stares up at him angrily, as best as she can while in mid-air.

Slowly, he reaches out with a huge hand to grab her whole face in a bruising hold. Nebula uselessly tries to move her head away.

THANOS

Deny it, act out all you want... but everything you are is because of me. I  made you.

NEBULA

(defiant)

I made  myself . After I survived you.

Thanos lets go of her face in disgust and takes a step back. He visibly has to collect himself and tamp down on his anger, but it only takes a moment before he’s studying her again.

He reaches out and runs a finger down the side of her face–where a metal piece is now tinted gold, changed over the years. Thanos narrows his eyes.

THANOS

There’s something different about you.

(to Ebony Maw)

Run diagnostics.

Ebony Maw flicks his fingers at the holo-screens, and a twisted snake of metal descends from the ceiling. Thanos grabs it and jams it into the back of Nebula’s head.

Nebula closes her eyes, uncomfortable and afraid as Thanos watches.

EBONY MAW

Sire... her memory files carry a strange time stamp. From 5 years in the future.

THANOS

The future?

EBONY MAW

Yes. 2023.

THANOS

Interesting... And she was found trying to hide.

Thanos studies Nebula again.

THANOS (CONT’D)

(to Nebula)

You’re an ungrateful brat and barely functional, but you still have use. You’re going to tell me everything you know.

(to Ebony Maw)

Search her memory files for Infinity Stones.

Ebony Maw hits a few holographic keys. Nebula’s head snaps back unnaturally quickly with a choked scream, her eyes forced wide. Her bionic eye begins projecting a series of images. Projected in mid-air from her memory, the familiar faces of the Avengers flicker, and they are audibly talking about the time heist.

Barely visible, a single tear trails down Nebula’s cheek from her other eye. Thanos leisurely takes a seat, ready to watch.

INT. QUINJET - NIGHT

Vision (in human disguise) and Wanda move to sit inside of the Quinjet, as the jet takes off of a roof in Glasgow. Natasha closes the ramp behind them.

VISION

Captain ... Forgive me, but I don’t understand.

WANDA MAXIMOFF

You said you’ve been in contact with Stark? He knows about ... whatever this is?

Steve sits down across from them, and Natasha moves to sit with Sam in the cockpit.

STEVE ROGERS

It’s a few hours to Wakanda. I’ll explain on the way.

Wanda and Vision exchange confused glances.

INT. THE BENATAR - LOWER DECK

All of the Guardians watch as Rocket moves over to a drawer in the wall, rummaging around to look for something.

PETER QUILL

Hey, hang on, I still have questions.

ROCKET

(distracted)

Yeah, I know you do, but I gotta make a call first. Just get us headed towards Xandar already!

(looking up)

Anyone got a communicator?

Gamora pulls her triangular one out of her pocket and hands it to him.

GAMORA

Here.

ROCKET

Thanks.

Rocket takes it and wanders off to the side, humming happily to himself as he slides the dials.

Drax, Mantis, and Groot seem fairly content to wait, going back to their zargnut snack and video game respectively. But Gamora and Quill exchange glances, and Quill moves to talk to Gamora closely.

PETER QUILL

(quietly)

So how are we feeling about all this?

GAMORA

(quietly)

We need to do anything he says. He knows things about Thanos and the stones that only Nebula or I would know. I know it’s crazy, but ...

She looks over at Rocket, and the camera focuses on him.

GAMORA (O.S.)

Everything he said has to be true.

On Rocket, as he talks into the communicator and adjusts the dials.

ROCKET

Hey, Carol? Carol Danvers?

Carol’s voice instantly replies.

CAROL DANVERS

(sharp)

How’d you get this frequency?

Rocket grins.

ROCKET

You gave it to me in the future. You also said you wouldn’t believe me, so you told me a code I could give you. Three words: Maria and Monica.

A pause.

CAROL DANVERS

(cautiously)

How do you know those names?

ROCKET

I told you,  you told me. Get the picture? Now that I have your attention, we’re gonna need your help on Xandar.

CAROL DANVERS

Okay, I’m listening.

EXT. KNOWHERE - THIRD QUADRANT

The Sanctuary II flies away from the Collector’s base–which is evidently on fire–and out through the eye hole of the floating Celestial head.

INT. SANCTUARY II - CELL

Thanos rips the nanotech container out of Nebula’s arm, and she screams.

In Thanos’ left palm: the reality stone. He considers the stone and the nanotech container as Nebula pants in pain in the background, and then Thanos pushes the container onto his left arm and taps it. Dutifully, nanobots flow out and around his hand, armoring him with a makeshift gauntlet.

As Ebony Maw watches, enraptured, Thanos puts the reality stone in place in the gauntlet.

THANOS

This isn’t ideal, but it’ll do. For now. And the stone will give me an even greater advantage.

The reality stone glows, and he studies it thoughtfully.

THANOS (CONT’D)

Maw, how long will it take to reach Earth at our current rate?

Nebula looks down and away, quietly devastated by the question.

EBONY MAW (O.S.)

Quite a few days, sire.

Thanos smiles and closes his fist, and the stone glows brighter. Around them, the ship shakes as he concentrates.

THANOS

And now?

Ebony Maw does some calculations on his holo-screens, and then he smiles back at him.

EBONY MAW

Mere hours, my liege.

THANOS

Excellent.

Thanos walks out, fist still clenched and stone glowing.

THANOS (CONT’D)

Have Proxima ready our forces.

INT. QUINJET - DAY

Wanda and Vision–now in his android form–exchange glances. Steve’s  stories are evidently winding down, and they’re in a different time zone.

WANDA MAXIMOFF

So we’ll meet Thanos on Xandar?

STEVE ROGERS

Right. We’ll get to him first, this time. Before he can kill anyone, or get any of the stones.

Suddenly, Vision hisses in shock and pain, and touches the stone on his forehead lightly as it glows. Wanda looks at him in concern.

WANDA MAXIMOFF

Vis?

VISION

The stone, it’s ... It’s trying to tell me something.

Steve sits up intently, worried.

STEVE ROGERS

What kind of something?

In the cockpit, something beeps. Sam stares at a sudden readout.

SAM WILSON

Oh  shit!

EXT. THE SKY - DAY

Thanos’ ship zooms down towards the Quinjet. They’re flying over a beach-like area; sand, stones, and boulders make a complex shore by a giant lake. 

The Quinjet banks to the side, but there’s nowhere for it to go–

The Sanctuary II opens fire and the Quinjet is sliced into segments!

INT. QUINJET - DAY

Everyone is thrown in different directions. Wanda screams as she hits the side of the jet. 

The cockpit is tossed one way, Natasha and Sam buckled inside; Steve’s tossed another way in another jet piece. Wanda tumbles through the air, unconscious, and Vision flies forward to scoop her up.

Steve’s jet piece hits the ground and rolls; he and the shield are thrown from it. 

In the background, Natasha and Sam’s piece hits the middle of the water with a huge splash, and teeters on the surface.

EXT. THE BEACH - DAY

Vision lands with Wanda and lays her down.

VISION

Wanda? Wanda!

She’s knocked out cold, blood on her head.

EXT. THE LAKE - DAY

Natasha and Sam’s cockpit teeters in the lake and starts to angle downward, glass up. It’s taking on water  fast as they struggle with their seatbelts, tilted backwards. Natasha abandons the seatbelt and raises her wrist with the communicator, just long enough to yell into it as water rises.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(gasping)

Thanos is on Earth! We need help!  Thanos is on Earth! Thanos–

They crane their necks for gulps of air, and then their heads go under. Sam struggles with his belt and Natasha holds her arm above the water as long as she can, the communicator glowing. CLOSE-UP on her wrist, transmitting their location.

The jet piece tilts and goes fully under. It sinks quickly and lands on the lake floor, cockpit glass up.

Natasha and Sam finally get out of their seatbelts and swim around, looking for a way out. Natasha finds a hole in the side of the jet, but it isn’t big enough to fit through. 

Sam tries to use the wings’ thrusters on the back of his suit for momentum as he kicks the cockpit glass, but he can’t get enough force going in the small underwater space. The glass doesn’t break.

They’re trapped.

EXT. THE BEACH - DAY

Thanos beams down to the ground in blue light, and he walks forward in full armor. He’s holding a double-bladed sword in his right hand, and the reality stone is still in the gauntlet on his left.

Steve and Vision are standing a hundred feet away and they look at each other.

STEVE ROGERS

Go!

Vision takes off to fly to their left, over the water. He hovers, then dives below the surface.

Steve moves towards Thanos slowly. Thanos passively waits and assesses him.

Eyes on Thanos, Steve talks in a low voice into his communicator.

STEVE ROGERS

Can anyone hear me? Thanos is on Earth. I repeat: Thanos is on Earth.

INT. SANCTUM SANCTORUM - FOYER - DAY

Sitting in the foyer now, Tony looks down at his communicator in alarm as a low voice comes from it.

STEVE ROGERS (OVER COM)

We need backup.

TONY STARK

(to Strange)

Shit, new plan, he’s here.

DOCTOR STRANGE

Thanos?

Tony stands, frantic.

TONY STARK

No, Santa Claus. YES, Thanos! I don’t know how, but he’s on Earth!

EXT. SPACE - LIGHTSPEED

The Benatar warps through space, with rock music faintly playing in the background.

INT. THE BENATAR - FLIGHT DECK

The Guardians are all kicked back in their seats, enjoying the music–an echo of the “Rubberband Man” scene from Infinity War. The music fades into the scene’s background naturally, as faint noise comes from Rocket’s communicator that’s staticky and hard to hear. Rocket puts it up to his ear.

NATASHA ROMANOFF (OVER COM)

(staticky)

Thanos ... need help ... Earth ...

STEVE ROGERS (OVER COM)

(staticky)

...hear me? ... on Earth ... Thanos is...

ROCKET

Oh no. No no no, this wasn’t supposed to happen.

PETER QUILL

What? What happened?

ROCKET

(panicked)

Thanos is on Earth! He must’ve got Nebula!

Gamora and Drax shout simultaneously from the lower level of the cockpit, alarmed.

GAMORA

What?!

DRAX

How?

PETER QUILL (O.S.)

Earth?! We’re nowhere  near Earth!!

Rocket smacks the console to drop them out of light speed, and everyone yelps as the ship abruptly halts. In a flurry he taps at his wrist communicator and pulls out the triangular one Gamora gave him, working with both.

ROCKET

(into Gamora’s communicator)

CAROL! How far are you from Earth?!

CAROL DANVERS

Not far, why?

As she speaks, Rocket yells into his wrist’s communicator next.

ROCKET

THOR! Thor, can you hear me?!

INT. THE STATESMAN - THOR’S OFFICE

Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, Heimdall, and Bruce–who is “Professor Hulk” from 2023–are sitting around sharing drinks. Thor’s communicator comes to life with Rocket’s staticky voice, which is the only signal close enough to reach his.

ROCKET (OVER COM)

(staticky)

Can you hear ... Thanos ... on Earth–

THOR

Earth?! No, how could he ... Thanos can’t be on Earth! That can’t be right!

Heimdall’s eyes go unfocused, but all-seeing.

HEIMDALL

He is there.

VALKYRIE

But we’re  days away from Earth.

BRUCE BANNER

We should’ve  had days, to get to Xandar!

Thor is nearing a panic attack.

THOR

This ... this is wrong, no no no, he can’t win  again –

BRUCE BANNER

(worried)

Okay, Thor, breathe.

LOKI (O.S.)

Brother, it’s alright. You’ve forgotten something.

Everyone turns to look at him, startled.

Loki holds up a hand, and in it ... the Tesseract appears. Its blue glow lights up Loki’s face as he smiles.

LOKI (CONT’D)

I can get us there.


	13. The Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> An attempt (at fight scenes) was made.

EXT. THE BEACH - DAY

Thanos and Steve square off against each other, circling closer and closer.

THANOS

I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you’ve shown me that’s impossible. And as long as there are those who remember,  there will always be those who will resist.

STEVE ROGERS

As long as one person stands against you, you’ll never be able to claim victory.

THANOS

Noble sentiments from one who’s about to die. And pointless ones. With the benefit of new knowledge, collecting the stones will be simple.  And then I will shred this universe down to its last atom, and create a new one .

STEVE ROGERS

Born out of blood.

THANOS

They’ll never know it. Because you won’t be alive to tell them.

Steve rushes forward, and the fight begins.

Steve twists to flip-kicks backwards, one-two to Thanos’ head.

Thanos absorbs the blows easily and punches the shield. Steve goes flying but rolls, gets back up, charges again with a flurry of kicks and hits–but Thanos barely moves. Steve’s like a gnat to him.

Thanos effortlessly pushes the shield to the side, punches Steve in the head, GRIPS Steve by the neck to throw him down.

Steve gets up and charges again, and Thanos stops taking it easy. He swings with his sword with a yell; Steve dodges; Thanos pushes the shield to the side again and SLICES the sword into Steve’s leg.

Steve YELLS in pain; he tries to punch, but Thanos catches the fist and tosses him away.

Steve hits the ground again; Thanos stalks closer. Steve stands up and raises the shield, and Thanos slashes the sword down brutally.

The sword CUTS into the shield and sticks there. 

ON STEVE’S EYES, above the shield: truly worried now.

Thanos swings again, and again, forcing Steve backwards, HACKING at the shield as pieces go flying.

Steve’s forced to his knees; Thanos looms; Steve holds half a shield up, arm shaking, and Thanos swipes his sword upwards to send Steve FLYING–through gravel and into a boulder.

Steve tries to get back up... but he collapses.

FROM ABOVE: Steve is on his back, holding a broken shield, more exhausted than we’ve ever seen him... and nearly unconscious.

INT. THE LAKE - UNDERWATER

Vision approaches the Quinjet piece underwater. Natasha and Sam are visible through the glass frantically still trying to break out, but now they have masks on the lower halves of their faces that cover their mouths and noses. As they breathe, we see bubbles; the masks are filtering oxygen for them.

They notice Vision, and Vision indicates for them to swim back.

Vision beams the mind stone’s energy from his forehead at the glass. Huge cracks appear in the glass and start spreading.

EXT. THE BEACH - DAY

Steve grits his teeth and rolls onto his stomach, trying to leverage himself up.

THANOS

In all my years of conquest ... violence ... slaughter ... it was never personal.

Steve spits blood on the ground and glares up at Thanos, breathing hard.

THANOS (CONT’D)

But I’ll tell you now ... what I’m about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet ... I’m gonna enjoy it. Very, very much.

CUT TO:

In a huge ray of blue light, armies of Chitauri soldiers beam down in armor. Like in Infinity War, triangular ships boom down to Earth containing the alien Outriders. War tanks glide along the ground, and massive alien beasts are guided out in chains.

CUT TO:

As the legion roars off-screen, CLOSE-UP on Steve:

He leans on his elbows, panting. Angle is the same as an earlier shot: when A1 Cap said to Steve, “I can do this all day.”

Steve grits his teeth again, and with pained sounds... he slowly starts to get up.

Thanos watches impassively and calmly, his armies filing closer in the distance behind him.

Shaky and bloody, but standing, Steve pulls the strap of his fractured shield tighter on his arm. He’s not done yet.

From Thanos’ ship, dozens of Chitauri warships begin to fly out.

Steve stands before it all: one man against an army, prepared to fight till the end.

THANOS

Despite myself, I admit ... I am impressed by your resolve.

Steve ignores him and starts limping forward.

THANOS (CONT’D)

You act with the fortitude of a god, but you’re still only a man. I humored you and fought you with honor, because even now ... I maintain my sense of fairness. But I think, before you die ... it’s only fitting that I remind you of how little you matter.

Thanos clenches his left fist, and the reality stone glows.

Off screen: Steve gasps loudly.

ON STEVE now: he’s back in his pre-serum body! Eyes wide, shaken to be feeling like this again after so long, chest heaving ... he grips the front of his downsized uniform and stumbles to one knee, wheezing for breath. He’s not used to this.

Thanos cocks his head almost pityingly.

THANOS

You see? Inside ... this is still what you are.

Thanos is right, but it’s not the insult he thinks he is. This is Steve Rogers at his core–and it’s what matters most.

Steve unbuckles the broken shield from his arm; it’s too heavy to hold with this body, especially when injured. And slowly ... he still. gets. up.

Steve stands, swaying and bruised, and holds up his small fists. It’s an echo of the first fight we saw him in: the alleyway scene in The First Avenger.

INT. SANCTUM SANCTORUM - FOYER - DAY

Tony looks at Strange, anxious.

TONY STARK

Okay send me, then go rally the troops. We need more time.

DOCTOR STRANGE

Time is something we have.

As he speaks, Strange moves his hands in the incantation to open the Eye of Agamotto and it reveals the time stone.

Simultaneously: Tony pulls his communicator off his wrist, and then he tosses it to Strange.

JAMES RHODES

(to Tony)

After this is over, you’re making me nanotech armor so I can suit up anywhere. I’m tired of this.

TONY STARK

Deal.

Strange looks down at the communicator in his hand. CLOSE-UP on the communicator, displaying Steve’s location.

DOCTOR STRANGE

(to Tony)

I’m sorry about this.

TONY STARK

Sorry about wh–

Tony cuts off as Strange reaches forward and pushes a palm onto Tony’s forehead. Tony’s eyes go wide, and his head snaps back.

ZOOM INTO Tony’s head: a blur of faces and locations zip by, in extreme fast-forward; Strange is digging through his mind, gathering info on who to rally.

ZOOM BACK OUT as Strange removes his hand.

TONY STARK

(gasping)

What was that?

DOCTOR STRANGE

Expedient.

With a swirl of his hands, Strange opens a portal across the foyer. Through it, we get a glimpse of the Steve vs. Thanos face-off.

DOCTOR STRANGE (CONT’D)

Go.

Tony shakes his head, trying to shake off what Strange just did. He taps his reactor to suit up, and immediately flies through the portal.

EXT. THE BEACH - DAY

With the element of surprise, Tony flies through the portal past Steve and barrels straight into Thanos. He hits feet-first with a canon of power, and back-flips off of him as Thanos stumbles.

Thanos’ focus breaks, so Steve reverts back to normal. He gasps in a breath, shakes off the shock, and snatches up his chopped shield.

STEVE ROGERS

Tony, he’s got a stone!

Thanos growls in annoyance and raises the stolen gauntlet, but a piece of Tony’s nanotech SMACKS onto Thanos’ palm to hold it open.

Tony PLANTS his heels into the ground with extra nanotech solidifying his stance, and he aims energy beams at Thanos–but Thanos reflects the energy back with his sword; Tony blocks that with his forearms.

CUT TO:

Inside the suit: on Tony’s face as he notices something.

TONY STARK

Wait, is that  my tech ?!

CLOSE-UP on Thanos’ palm; the nano-bots holding his hand open start reforming, being absorbed by the nano-gauntlet he stole from Nebula!

CUT TO:

By the shoreline, Wanda sits up and groans, feeling her head. She startles and turns as Sam and Vision–carrying Natasha–skyrocket out of the water to land next to her.

Vision immediately moves to check on Wanda and help her up, as a soaking wet Natasha and Sam toss their oxygen masks to the ground, coughing, and get their bearings.

WANDA MAXIMOFF

I’m alright.

Sam looks towards where Thanos is squaring off with Steve and Tony, and pulls out his guns.

SAM WILSON

Looks like they’re in trouble.

Just as he says it, the camera zips to the side: the four Children of Thanos (the Black Order) beam down in blue light nearby and catch sight of their group–and particularly, Vision’s stone. Behind them in the distance, the Chitauri armies shriek.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

So are we.

CUT TO:

With one hand Tony aims energy at Thanos directly, and with the other he aims a beam at Steve’s shield piece that Steve reflects onto Thanos.

Thanos is forced to block with both his sword and his gauntlet hand;

So Tony can FLY forward to grip the gauntlet, trying to absorb the nanotech and stone into his suit.

The bots shift and–maybe he’s got it–

Thanos headbutts Tony, cracking his helmet; Tony staggers, dazed even as the helmet’s bots reform, and Thanos shakes him off and down just as–

Steve LEAPS up onto Thanos’ back, going for his throat with the jagged shield.

Thanos rips Steve over his shoulder and onto the ground, SLICES his sword down, and Steve ROLLS to barely dodge–

and Thanos grabs Steve by the uniform and throws him.

Getting up, Tony looks down at his fist.

TONY’S POV: A shaky view of his armored hand–he has the reality stone! Wait, no he doesn’t–it crumbles into dust?

ON THANOS: clenched fist,  real reality stone glowing. 

Tony fires missiles and energy pulses from his suit that pass through Thanos harmlessly as Thanos stalks forward.

Thanos’ sword slices down–Tony barely blocks it with a nanoshield and pushes up–

and Thanos grips Tony’s helmet to crack it again, punch his head, and KICK him so hard he goes flying–

right into Steve who’s trying to stand.

They both hit the ground HARD and roll with the force of it...

and then, they don’t move.

Both Steve and Tony lay there, blinking away unconsciousness. Tony’s bots slowly reform to cover his head where there’s a smear of blood.

Thanos watches and waits for them to get up again, but it isn’t happening–at least not yet. He shakes his head at them in disgust; this is beneath him.

THANOS

Pathetic.

Thanos turns away and moves towards his army, truly done with this now. He raises his sword, and the armies shriek their readiness.

But then...

OFF-SCREEN: a shimmery sound of magic.

Thanos turns back around and slowly lowers his arm, watching something in confusion.

On Steve and Tony, on the ground still. And suddenly ...

A hand reaches down towards Steve, and he looks up in disbelief.

BUCKY BARNES (O.S.)

Need a hand?

Bucky Barnes is standing there, haloed in light and carrying a machine gun.

PULL BACK: a few feet behind him is a golden portal. As the portal slowly expands outwards, more figures walk out next, epicly silhouetted. Slowly, they move close enough to become clear: T’Challa, Okoye, Shuri, Nakia and M’Baku.

Steve grips Bucky’s hand, and Bucky pulls him up. T’Challa nods at Steve, and Steve looks like he could almost cry with relief.

STEVE ROGERS

(to Bucky)

I had him on the ropes.

Bucky huffs a laugh and hugs him... and Steve watches in awe over Bucky’s shoulder as the portal widens further and Wakandan armies start filing out.

PULL BACK: more portals start to appear on the beach, all at once, golden circles forming.

CUT TO:

By the shoreline, the Black Order heads towards Vision and co.; they all brace themselves, Wanda’s hands glowing with energy...

And then:

T’CHALLA (O.S.)

Yibambe!

THE WAKANDAN ARMIES (O.S.)

Yibambe!

T’CHALLA (O.S.)

Yibambe!

THE WAKANDAN ARMIES (O.S.)

Yibambe!

The Black Order and the heroes all turn to look in surprise.

CUT TO:

AERIAL: the Wakandan armies are coming out of multiple large portals now–even via portals high in the air, in hoverships!

CUT TO:

On Natasha and Sam, relieved.

SAM WILSON

Oh,  hell yes.

CUT TO:

Tony, sitting up now, retracts his helmet and looks up.

Bucky is offering him a hand now too–the metal one specifically.

The moment is brief, but heavy. As Steve looks on, Tony looks at Bucky’s hand, and then at Bucky’s face; Bucky does a small nod.

Tony grabs the hand and Bucky pulls him up, and then Tony nods back.

CUT TO:

ANOTHER PORTAL opens: Strange floats through towards the ground, and War Machine flies through to hover in his suit. Peter Parker swings in and lands–wearing his previous red and blue cloth suit without the mask–and he looks around in awe before sliding the mask on.

ANOTHER PORTAL: led by Wong, masters of the mystic arts file out with magic sigils at the ready. At Wong’s side are Pepper–who’s glowing with Extremis power!–and Clint. A tiny Wasp zooms by, carrying a tiny Ant-Man, and they both embiggen and retract their helmets to grin at each other.

ANOTHER PORTAL: more Wakandan troops and mystic arts masters file out.

Strange lands next to Wong.

DOCTOR STRANGE

Is that everyone?

WONG

What, you wanted more?

Suddenly, a MASSIVE BLUE SPACE PORTAL appears too: out comes Loki, carrying the Tesseract, and shedding his Aesir appearance for his Jotun form! And with him: THE REVENGERS. Thor, carrying Stormbreaker; Valkyrie and Heimdall with armor and swords; Bruce, Korg, Asgardian soldiers...

And next to them: THE GUARDIANS. Starlord flies out and lands, retracting his helmet; Drax and Gamora pull out knives and a sword respectively, with Mantis backing them up; Groot’s branches lengthen with spikes, and Rocket cocks a huge gun.

Thor takes in Loki’s appearance, stunned. But all Thor says is–

THOR

Why now?

Loki meets his gaze with red eyes, defensive.

LOKI

I’m stronger in this form.

THOR

Then I’m glad for it.

CUT TO:

By the shoreline again: 

Wanda swirls up a wall of water and stones to block the Black Order’s view. Ebony Maw quickly moves it away, but it serves its distracting purpose; Vision, Wanda, and Sam–carrying Natasha–launch into the air and land to join the ensemble.

Steve and Tony look around in relieved disbelief, and exchange tired grins.

Thanos watches, eyes narrowed in assessment.

On the portals: the heroic forces finish filing in, yelling war cries.

AERIAL of the beach: the heroic army vs. Thanos’ army, mere hundreds of feet apart–and now evenly matched.

Pan down the heroes’ line, as they ready themselves for war, and–

STEVE ROGERS (O.S.)

Avengers....

The pan reaches Steve.  He pulls the strap of his broken shield ever-tighter, and pauses.

Silence; we’ve waited 21 movies for this, and...

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D)

...Assemble.

T’Challa and the Wakandans yell and run forward; so do the Asgardians led by Thor and Loki–

Iron Man, War Machine, and Starlord fly above it all, and so do Wakandan ships–

Thanos leisurely points his sword forward, and his armies are finally unleashed to run past him; the Black Order leads the charge, and Chitauri ships fly down–

PULL BACK to see the heroes running; Ant-Man becomes Giant Man; and in the air are Iron Man, War Machine, Starlord, Vision, Scarlett Witch, Spider-Man, Falcon–

The forces CLASH in the middle.

Thor VAULTS into the air and lands wrapped in explosive lightning that destroys 20 aliens–

Spider-Man swings towards the camera and KICKS something away–followed by Wasp–

Bruce jumps into frame and throws aliens easily–

Our eyes move up: Giant Man punches out a Chitauri ship! It falls, leading our eyes down–

Black Panther punch-kicks an alien, Okoye spears one, Nakia and Shuri fight back-to-back–

Drax runs across frame and LEAPS onto a huge beast, stabbing it repeatedly with a yell–and near him, THREE LOKIS slice and slash in a whirlwind of motion and magic–

Iron Man flies across frame to blast ships, and War Machine joins him, fighting back-to-back mid-air–

A ship falls and crashes, leading our eye back down, to Steve and Bucky fighting back to back passing the shield piece and gun between them–

Falcon flies across frame with a YELL to kick a huge beast down and kill it with both wings to the chest–

CUT TO:

From above we see Thanos on the ground in the middle of it all, frustrated. He clenches his fist to use the reality stone, and the ground starts to shake and break apart–

But A BEAM OF YELLOW LIGHT hits him and knocks him back; it’s Vision, swooping in with the mind stone!

Thanos twirls his sword inhumanly fast, redirecting and blocking the beam enough to clench his fist and use the stone to TURN VISION TO RIBBONS.

WANDA MAXIMOFF (O.S.)

Vis!

Wanda lands heavily in front of Thanos surrounded by red energy, levitating two massive boulders that she throws towards Thanos–

But it does nothing; he turns the boulders into dust and then Wanda into stones.

CUT TO:

Bruce, in the midst of the fighting, throws and rips apart aliens. Then, talking to himself–

BRUCE BANNER

Okay Hulk, your time to shine. You wanna take the reins? Time to smash, buddy.

Bruce twitches his head to the side and looks down, and when he looks up–his face morphs, and he’s all Hulk now.

Hulk grins and ROARS, and runs headlong to the side ... tackling Cull Obsidian, who Valkyrie and Heimdall were fighting. Valkyrie laughs.

VALKYRIE

(yelling)

Welcome back, my friend!

CUT TO:

Iron Man takes out multiple aliens around him at once with repulsor beams and missiles, making a little pocket of relative peace in the chaos.

TONY STARK

(looking off screen)

HONEY? What’re you doing here?

Camera swings to the side as Pepper, glowing with Extremis power, drop-kicks a Chitauri soldier and grabs its gun.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

It’s not safe! I’m going to kill that wizard–

PEPPER POTTS

It’s not safe for you either! I’m tired of you fighting aliens without me! 

Another soldier comes up, and as Pepper speaks, she uses the gun as a blunt weapon to hit in time with her words:

PEPPER POTTS (CONT’D)

And I have.  a lot. of anger . to work out right now!

Tony retracts his helmet to talk to her.

TONY STARK

Okay, but I have a  suit of  armor , and also  experience–

Pepper turns around, ready to yell at him, and sees something behind him.

PEPPER POTTS

GET DOWN!

Tony drops flat immediately and Pepper shoots Proxima Midnight three times in the chest, where she was behind Tony ready to strike.

Tony looks from Proxima’s body to Pepper.

TONY STARK

...Thank you.

PEPPER POTTS

Uh huh.

Pepper tosses the gun down and runs to the side, picking up an abandoned knife on her way. She fearlessly leaps inhumanly far to join Natasha, who’s on a Chitauri’s shoulders and electrocuting it in the neck.

Tony is still on the ground, watching Pepper in awe; and from the background, Peter jumps forward to land next to him.

PETER PARKER

Holy cow!

Tony startles and stares in shock as Peter pulls off his mask and helps him up; Tony looks at him like he kind of wants to cry, but Peter babbles on excitedly, oblivious.

PETER PARKER (CONT’D)

Mr. Stark, that guy with the cape you sent was so cool! I was walking home, and he came out of a sparkly yellow portal, and he was all, ‘Tony Stark needs your help,’ and I was like, okay, I know I shouldn’t trust strangers, but this seems pretty legit? So I–

He cuts off as Tony pulls him into a tight hug, emotional. Peter blinks in surprise and slowly hugs him back.

PETER PARKER

Oh... This is nice.

Tony holds him for a moment longer then pulls back to look at him sternly.

TONY STARK

You shouldn’t be here either.

PETER PARKER

What? But I–

TONY STARK

Too late! But if you’re gonna be here, you need something better than  this .

Tony plucks at Peter’s old uniform, and Peter looks down at it in confusion.

PETER PARKER

What’s wrong with it? You made it.

TONY STARK

(tapping his com)

Friday?

F.R.I.D.A.Y. (V.O.)

On it, boss.

Tony pats Peter’s shoulder and reactivates his helmet, then backs up.

TONY STARK

Stay here for a second. You’re getting something better.

PETER PARKER

Something better? What–

Tony jets off, and Peter stands there in confusion, when suddenly–something flies in and hits him in the back; it’s the nanosuit Tony also gave him in Infinity War, quickly covering his whole body.

PETER PARKER (CONT’D)

Whoa ... awesome .

Peter looks down at his arms to admire the suit, then  thwips off-screen and back to the fighting.

CUT TO:

Thanos stalks towards the dismantled Vision, intent on getting the mind stone–

And a massive strike of lightning pummels Thanos into the ground on his back–followed by a spinning Stormbreaker that Thanos rolls to barely dodge!

Wanda and Vision start reforming, gasping–

And Thor FLIES in, aglow with lightning as he lands on Thanos.

Thor calls Stormbreaker to him and chops downward, but Thanos throws up his glowing fist–and Thor disintegrates!

Thanos levers himself up with his sword–and Starlord zooms in, shooting at him–

Thanos MELTS Starlord into a puddle next to a reforming Thor–

Drax attacks from the other side with a YELL and Thanos knocks him away with his sword and uses the stone to trap his legs in the ground–

Doctor Strange FLIES in with glowing ropes of energy to grab the gauntlet, but Thanos throws his sword at him and the hold breaks.

THANOS

Enough!

He sends a powerful blast from the reality stone, and ... Now there are multiples of Thanos! The nearby heroes have been changed to look like him. The camera angles are dizzying and chaotic as they all look around and assess everyone’s held weapons; who’s the real Thanos??

Before anyone can move, Spider-Man swings into the middle and– thwip thwip thwip thwip –he covers the eyes of each “Thanos” who’s empty-handed.

Every “Thanos” except one reverts back to their normal forms. Vision, Wanda, Strange, and real Thanos himself pull webbing off of their eyes–

PETER PARKER

He has to see to hold an illusion! Uh oh–

Thanos turns Peter to ribbons!

Strange flies into the air and, with a swirl of magic, makes a band of gold light around Thanos’ eyes and another holding his fist open. Wanda levitates Thanos into the air with red energy, arms straining, and Thor and Vision aim lighting and energy to pummel him mid-air as she starts pulling apart his armor. 

Pieces fly off in bits as Thanos yells angrily–Wanda focuses her attention and the gauntlet starts breaking apart, the nanobots desperately reforming to try to keep it together–

Thanos is immobilized–

THANOS

Rain ... fire!

CUT TO:

Corvus Glaive spears someone and looks up in shock.

CORVUS GLAIVE

But sire! Our troops!

CUT TO:

The stone is barely staying in place on Thanos’ hand now–his armor and the gauntlet are nearly gone–

THANOS

Just do it!

CUT TO:

The Sanctuary II’s guns activate and aim downward. Immediately, missiles and heavy fire rain down from the ship and hit all over the battlefield.

Wanda drops Thanos and puts her arms up, trying to shield herself, but a missile blast sends her flying and she screams. Everyone scatters, either nearly hit or trying to find cover–

CUT TO:

Wong and the masters of the mystic arts use giant sigils above their heads as shelter;  Loki makes a similar forcefield around him and some Asgardians.

CUT TO:

AERIAL of the battle. Only half of the beach is shielded, and heavy artillery hits everywhere–including the water, which rises up and threatens a tsunami–

CUT TO:

Strange notices the water and flies over. He puts his hands up, arms aglow, and makes a swirling tornado of magic and water to keep it from falling.

CUT TO:

Missiles continue to fall everywhere, and everyone is getting hit  hard .

Aliens and humans alike scream and get sent flying in every direction.

Tony shelters Pepper with an insufficient nano-shield; Bucky and Steve huddle under the half-shield and Bucky’s arm for a bare bit of protection; Clint pulls Natasha to huddle with him under a piece of debris;

Ebony Maw has Hulk pinned to a tall boulder via levitation, but then a missile hits and Maw gets tossed; Hulk falls to the ground and pounds on Maw’s head to kill him;

Rocket keeps shooting at aliens and Groot keeps fighting them until they get thrown too, and Rocket yells and rolls to cover Groot body with his own–

But then ...

The missiles stop. 

Silence.

Rocket and Groot looks up in confusion, and so does everyone else on the battlefield.

CUT TO:

The ship cannons change position and angle UPWARDS at something in the atmosphere, now firing everything they’ve got!

Tony, inside his suit:

TONY STARK

Friday, what are they firing at?

F.R.I.D.A.Y.

Something just entered the upper atmosphere!

From the atmosphere comes a streak of light, beaming directly INTO and THROUGH Thanos’ ship, taking out the guns!

It’s Carol Danvers! She zooms through the air and twists back towards the ship to barrel through it one more time. Half of the ship is now alight with explosive flames, breaking apart mid-air.

CUT TO:

Rocket grins.

ROCKET

Oh yeeeeahhh!

As everyone watches, the ship breaks further and falls with a slow descent into the water. Carol hovers, grimly satisfied.

CUT TO:

Thanos, however, looks afraid.  His ship is gone, and now so are most of his troops after those missiles ... and half of his armor.

Before he can do anything, Gamora RUNS into frame and slashes at Thanos. He blocks with his right hand, but he’s no longer armored so she CUTS into him and he yells in shock.

THANOS

Daughter–?!

Gamora spins to slice into his legs, making him stumble–

She goes to stab his chest–

But now the sword passes through uselessly.

Thanos’ fist is clenched; he still has the reality stone, even as it’s barely attached to his hand anymore, the gauntlet all but gone. He grits his teeth as the red energy cuts into his arm with little protection, but he holds fast, the stone glowing. Gamora tries slicing at him again and again, but it’s useless.

THANOS

I’m not going to fight you. You’re too valuable.

Gamora makes a grab for the stone, yelling wordlessly in rage, but Thanos gets up and grabs her with his right arm and THROWS her to the side.

But what he doesn’t notice as he does so, on his left hand–

The stone levitates off of his hand and is pulled away in a swirl of red light, zooming right over to panting and bloody Wanda.

Thanos looks up in shock, and–

A glowing Carol BARRELS into him from the sky and knocks him back!

She hovers to kick and punch him in the head, one-two–and he definitely feels it–

He grips her throat and HEADBUTTS her, but she doesn’t flinch and strikes him again, so he THROWS her–

Only for a bolt of lightning to hit him again from a hovering Thor, wreathed in crackling energy.

Thanos stumbles–

Carol grabs and twists one arm behind Thanos’ back–

Vision flies forward to grab his other arm–Wanda traps his legs in the ground using a swirl of stones–

Thor lands and stalks towards Thanos, hefting Stormbreaker with glowing eyes, but then–

Gamora SCREAMS from the side and runs forward. As the others watch and Thor freezes, she plants a foot on a boulder and LAUNCHES off of it–

Slight SLOW MOTION–

Thanos looks up in fear, trapped as her shadow covers him–

And she arcs her sword to slice his head clean off.

The momentum lands her on the other side of the body, one knee bent, her chest splattered in gore. 

On Gamora for a moment as she kneels there, breathing hard.

Then: Wanda and Carol let Thanos’ body fall and groan in disgust, splattered a bit with gore too.

CAROL DANVERS

(wiping at her face)

Okay... that’s extremely gross.

Thor stares down at the body with mixed emotions–almost like he’s not ready to take his eyes off of it. It’s hard to believe Thanos is really, truly dead.

Off to the side, Gamora pants, emotions high as she stands and looks at her gore-covered sword. She tosses it to the ground and it clatters on the stones; she’ll never use it again.

She turns towards where Thanos’ head rests on the ground, takes out the knife he gave her as a child, and stalks forward purposefully.

Peter Quill flies in to land next to her.

PETER QUILL

Gamora, it’s done.

Gamora ignores him and yells, stabbing downwards–

We don’t see her stab the head, but we hear the sound and see Quill wince. She stands back up again next to Quill, and she looks calmer now as she wipes off her hand.

GAMORA

It’s done.

Gamora looks over to where Thanos’ ship is in flames in the middle of the lake, and Strange almost has the swirling water calmed again.

GAMORA (CONT’D)

Nebula.

Quill activates his helmet and holds his arms out.

PETER QUILL

Come on.

He picks her up and they jet off towards Thanos’ ship, flying over the remains of the battle–which has  far less aliens left. The heroes have almost won, and clean-up is starting.

CUT TO:

Back at Thanos’ body. 

Carol gives it one last disgusted look and jets off to join the rest of the battle. Wanda and Vision look at each other.

VISION

Ready?

They nod to each other and fly off too.

Thor stays there, staring at the body heavily for a moment longer.

LOKI (O.S.)

Thor.

Thor turns to see Loki behind him. As Thor watches, Loki shifts back from his blue Jotun form to his regular appearance.

LOKI (CONT’D)

(gently)

Make your peace with it. This is still a victory. The final blow was not owed to you, and there’s more to be done.

Thor takes a deep breath and smiles slightly.

THOR

(mumbling to himself)

Fix what we can fix.

LOKI

What?

Thor hefts Stormbreaker and calls more lightning to him, like a comforting cloak.

THOR

You’re right.

LOKI

(quirking a smile)

I usually am.

Loki swirls green energy in his hands readily. Side-by-side, the brothers turn to re-enter the fight.


	14. Everybody Wants A Happy Ending

INT. SANCTUARY II - WRECKAGE - DAY

Quill flies up into a hole in the side of Thanos’ ship and puts Gamora down. Gamora looks around to get her bearings, then bolts off in one direction.

They run through the ship as best as they can, Gamora leading the way. The floors are tilted and broken in places, wind whistles through massive holes in sections, and flames have engulfed whole areas.

Gamora coughs in the smoke; Quill retracts his helmet and pulls the piece from behind his ear to offer it to her, but she waves him off and keeps rushing forward to zigzag through pockets of flames. Quill follows.

PETER QUILL

(yelling)

Do you know where she’d be?

A couple of Chitauri guards round a corner but Gamora doesn’t even hesitate, knowing Quill will shoot them over her shoulder–and he does.

GAMORA

(yelling back to Quill)

Yes!

They twist and turn through labyrinths, dodging obstacles of debris and fire, and then they finally make it to the cells.

The grate of Nebula’s cell is bent and collapsed, and the roof has half caved in on the cell itself. Gamora grips two bars, gritting her teeth, and she pulls them apart further to make a hole big enough for her and Quill to fit through.

On the ground: Nebula, curled up and as injured as earlier, but untouched by the debris.

Gamora rushes over to her and gently turns her over.

GAMORA

(whispering)

Please, please ...

Nebula moans and opens her eyes. Gamora exhales shaily in relief, and gently moves so Nebula’s resting across her lap.

GAMORA (CONT’D)

(to Peter)

She’s alive!

Quill immediately puts his hand on his ear to talk to Rocket over coms.

PETER QUILL

Rocket! Rocket, we found her! Nebula’s alive! 

(beat)

Yeah, she’s hurt pretty bad but I think you can fix it ...

As he talks, he climbs back out of the cell to discuss logistics with Rocket and give the sisters space.

Gamora looks back down at Nebula and smiles shakily, eyes shining with tears.

GAMORA

Hey, sister.

Nebula raises an unsteady hand to touch Gamora’s face almost in awe, finally seeing the proof that it really worked;  Gamora’s alive . Gamora grabs Nebula’s hand and hangs onto it. 

Nebula’s eyes flit all over Gamora, drinking her in–and the dried gore on her body.

NEBULA

Did you do it?

Gamora nods repeatedly, shaky, and she laughs and cries a little at the same time.

GAMORA

Yes. He’s dead. It’s over.

Nebula smiles up at Gamora and then closes her eyes, sinking into her embrace.

NEBULA

It’s over.

PULL BACK: Gamora cradles Nebula close, the ruins of the ship around them, and leans down to touch their foreheads together.

EXT. THE BEACH - DAY

Back on the remains of the battlefield, Okoye is fighting Corvus Glaive spear-to-spear, exchanging blows almost faster than can be followed–

But Glaive backs her up against a boulder to restrict her movements, and she’s parrying UP with her spear to barely hold off his–

Nakia runs up and SLASHES at Glaive’s back with her discs–Glaive’s back bows in pain and he half turns to meet her, fighting both Okoye and Nakia off now and heavily armored but losing the upper hand–

And Shuri starts shooting at him from the side! She gets him in the side of the helmet then focuses on his legs and makes him stumble–

Nakia traps his spear with her discs and TWISTS it from his grip–

And Okoye runs him through with her own spear from behind! Glaive YELLS in pain, impaled as Okoye screams and pushes it deeper–

And Nakia GRABS Glaive’s spear, flips it, and lodges it into his chest with a yell of her own. 

Glaive goes limp, finally dead, and they pull the spears from his body as he drops to the ground.

CUT TO:

Steve wrestles and rolls with an Outrider alien on the ground. He gets pinned, slashing at it with his broken shield, and then the sound of an energy gun rings out and it drops dead on top of him.

Steve pushes it to the side with a groan and sits up to see Natasha dropping a Chitauri gun, standing next to Clint. They both look exhausted and bloody but not too worse for wear.

STEVE ROGERS

(tired)

Thanks.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

No problem.

Steve looks around at the battlefield.

STEVE’S POV: corpses everywhere. Mostly alien, but some human too. There’s only a handful of living aliens left scattered around, but they’re all fighting someone and about to be killed. So Steve stays on the ground; the worst is definitely over.

Iron Man flies over and lands next to them, and his helmet retracts.

TONY STARK

Did we ... Correct me if I’m wrong, but did we just  win ? Why do I feel like I’m forgetting something?

Hulk bounds up, brute-like but almost happy, and then his head twitches to the side and he straightens up to morph back into “Professor Hulk.”

BRUCE BANNER

Where’s Thanos? I let Hulk loose and lost track of him.

Tony points at Bruce.

TONY STARK

That’s the something. Big, ugly purple guy, nowhere to be found now?

Thor walks up, Loki at his side. Loki does a little wave and Clint, in particular, eyes him with distrust.

THOR

Thanos is dead.

The other Avengers collectively exhale in relief, and Tony immediately drops to the ground to sit near Steve, exhausted.

TONY STARK

Oh hey, great job team, wooooo. Sitting now, cleanup later. Rogers has the right idea.

STEVE ROGERS

(insistently)

It wasn’t on purpose. I’m getting up in a minute.

TONY STARK

Sure. Hey everyone, let’s never do this again, okay? We have  got to find a better way to spend time together.

Natasha sits too, favoring one of her legs. She tugs on Clint’s arm so he joins her on the ground, rolling his eyes.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(wryly)

Well... there’s always shawarma.

Everyone but Loki kind of laughs a little. Bruce tosses an alien corpse out of the way to sit, and Thor moves forward to join him, with Loki looking at him like he’s crazy for participating in this sitdown.

Group shot: the original six heroes on the ground, exhausted but smiling at each other. Whole and together, even after everything.

PULL BACK to the remains of the battlefield around them, slowly zooming out. Some of the other characters scattered around–Pepper, Peter Parker, Bucky, Sam, T’Challa, Wanda–look over towards the sitting group, and start to walk over.

And as they do...

REPORTER #1 (V.O.)

So you’re leaving us, Mr. Stark?

FADE OUT

OVER BLACK

TONY STARK (V.O.)

Look.

FADE IN

INT. CHURCH ALTAR - DAY

Pepper and Tony’s wedding; they’re at the altar, holding hands. Thor is officiating. Rhodey  is the best man. The “groomsmen” are Steve, Bruce in his human form, and Nebula in a suit. Peter stands off to the side, holding a box; he's ring bearer. Pepper’s bridal party is women we don’t know, except for Natasha, who’s a bridesmaid.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

Everybody wants a happy ending, right?

THOR

You may now kiss the bride.

Tony and Pepper kiss as everyone cheers.

On the audience: everyone we know and love is there–including Happy crying as he’s recording with his phone, and  Harley Keener (17), who sheltered Tony in his garage and has been Tony’s mentee ever since . Notably, Wong is in the first row, clapping but looking amused/surprised to be there; he was invited to the wedding like Tony had promised mid-battle in Infinity War, but he doesn’t totally know why, because for him that never happened.

Rocket’s also in the first row, standing on a chair. As he whoops and hollers, Pepper’s parents nearby jump and look at him in bewilderment.

Back to the bride and groom, arms around each other. Pepper laughs as Tony throws a triumphant, joyous fist in the air.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

Against all odds, we got one.

EXT. THE LANG HOUSE - BACKYARD - AFTERNOON [SILENT]

Hope, Janet, Hank, Scott’s friends, and Cassie’s parents are all sitting on patio furniture, watching as Scott chases after Cassie in the yard. He catches up to her and we don’t hear it, but we see as she giggles when he swings her around.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

Okay, scratch that: we  made one, for everyone. And you don’t even realize the full extent of it. Which, trust me...

INT. SHIELD HQ - FURY’S OFFICE - DAY

Natasha casually sits with Maria Hill and Fury, all of them holding glasses of whiskey. Maria and Fury are blinking at Natasha in disbelief, reacting to something she just said.

MARIA HILL

Well,  that’s horrible.

NATASHA ROMANOFF

(smiling wryly)

Yup.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

...that ignorance is a good thing.

EXT. BARTON HOME - LIVING ROOM - DAY [SILENT]

On the floor, Clint is playing Twister with his two oldest kids. On the couch, Laura Barton watches fondly as the youngest kid–Nathaniel–holds the spinner.

Clint winces as he reaches across the mat for a blue dot, and we see the kids giggle at him.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

We’ve got a normal version of the planet back,  if there ever was such a thing. God, what a world.

INT. THE BENATAR - FLIGHT DECK [SILENT]

The Guardians are all sitting together, gliding through space. They’re singing along to music we can’t hear.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

Universe, now. 

On Nebula: she looks around at her family and smiles to herself. She’s not singing along–not yet–but her hand is tapping.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

If you’d told me ten years ago that we weren’t alone–let alone, you know, to this extent...

EXT. NEW ASGARD - BUILDING SITE - DAY [SILENT]

Asgardians are working on constructing in-progress homes and buildings all around. 

On Valkyrie and Heimdall: holding a blueprint drawing that they’re reviewing. CLOSE-UP on the blueprint: it’s of the palace we saw in 2023. Valkyrie looks up, to see—

VALKYIRE’S POV: Thor and Professor Hulk are carrying huge pieces of material up the hill on their shoulders. Loki’s effortlessly levitating twice as many materials while strolling alongside them lazily, hands glowing green.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

I mean, I wouldn’t have been surprised. But come on, you know? The epic forces of darkness and light that have come into play?

INT. SANCTUM SANCTORUM - STORAGE AREA [SILENT]

Doctor Strange and Wong are putting away the Eye of Agamotto necklace, placing it on its base in the vault. It is now noticeably open–and empty. Where’s the time stone?

TONY STARK (V.O.)

And for better or worse, that’s our reality now. That being said, this whole hero gig ...

INT. WAKANDA - BUNKER [SILENT]

Shuri, T’Challa, Okoye, and Vision stand behind glass, observing a wider room. Vision has a conspicuously empty spot on his forehead; Shuri removed the mind stone from his head safely.

They’re observing Wanda and Carol, who are standing in the main part of the bunker. In the room with them is a huge device shaped like a technological funnel, and it’s pointing at a small podium.

CLOSE-UP on the podium, which displays all of the infinity stones, except for the purple power stone.

Carol places the Orb next to the other stones. With tendrils of red energy, Wanda carefully opens the Orb with her powers, levitates the purple power stone out, and moves the Orb out of the way.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

Someone’s gotta do it, and I’ve realized that that someone doesn’t have to be me anymore.

Wanda and Carol both move to stand in front of the large end of the funnel device. 

They nod to each other, and then they lift their fists and aim the combined force of both of their powers into the funnel and out the other side. It centralizes into a combined power that’s amplified. They BLAST the Infinity Stones–reality, mind, space, time, and power. The soul stone is the only one missing.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

Part of the journey is the end. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing.

The energy increases as Wanda and Carol silently grimace, focused.

CLOSE-UP on the stones, as they finally shatter.

Both women are THROWN back onto the ground from the force that reverberates through the room, and the last wisps of color dissipate into the air. Breathing heavily, they scramble up to confirm that it worked–the stones are gone. They look at each other and laugh in relief, and high-five.

Behind the glass, Shuri fist-pumps.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

So yeah, I’m ‘leaving you,’ if you want to call it that ... but I’m leaving you in good hands.

EXT. NEW YORK CITY - SUNSET [SILENT]

Spider-Man swings through the city. He lands on a sidewalk and notices a little kid staring at him, so he waves.

TONY STARK (V.O.)

There are enough heroes to go around now. It’s the next generation’s turn.

Suddenly, Spider-Man turns his head sharply as he senses something, and– twip . He shoots off webbing to swing away again.

INT. PRESS ROOM - DAY

Tony’s been speaking at a podium to a room full of reporters, leaning against it casually; an echo of the scene in Iron Man 1, but he’s way more relaxed.

REPORTER #2

You really expect us to believe you’re retiring?

Tony smirks.

TONY STARK

I don’t expect you to believe it. But I promise you, I’m done. Seriously. And for once, I feel good about it, okay? I’ve found my peace. Permanently this time. No more questions.

The reporters all stand and shout questions anyway in a cacophony that he ignores. Tony flips a wave over his shoulder with his left hand as he walks off the stage, his wedding band catching the light.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

(over his shoulder)

Lose my number!

He pushes double doors open and he walks out.

Slight SLOW MOTION– 

Tony, haloed by the lights of photographers’ flashes behind him. His eyes practically twinkle as he flips on sunglasses, smiling to himself.

EXT. NEW YORK - SHIELD BASE - DAY

A tall and unlabeled building, all grey and glass, sits on a crowded street.

SAM WILSON (V.O.)

Are you sure?

INT. SHIELD BASE - LAB - DAY

Sam is standing in front of a large mirror, trying on a Captain America suit with wings. A SHIELD tech measures something on his arm, makes a note on a tablet, and walks off.

Steve is standing nearby, watching proudly and holding the shield in its case. His beard is back just like before, and his hair is slightly longer again.

STEVE ROGERS

For the millionth time,  yes I’m sure.

Sam laughs a little.

SAM WILSON

I know, it’s just ... surreal still. Takes some getting used to.

(waves to himself)

It’s hitting me all over again, finally wearing this.

STEVE ROGERS

I know, and that’s why I want you to finally complete the look.

Steve pulls out the shield and offers it to Sam.

Sam takes a deep breath and puts it on his arm. He stands tall and looks at himself in the mirror, fully in uniform–shield and all. Steve comes up next to him, arms folded, and grins.

STEVE ROGERS (CONT’D)

There you go.

Sam turns to look at him, grinning back.

SAM WILSON

Okay,  now I can get excited.

Steve laughs.

SAM WILSON (CONT’D)

Seriously though ... It means a lot to me that both you and Barnes are cool with this.

STEVE ROGERS

You’ve always been the clear choice. There’s no one I’d rather pass the  name to, and there’s no one else Buck would rather fight with when the time comes.

Steve hands Sam the case for the shield, and Sam puts it in and zips it up. He moves forward to lean it against the mirror on the ground.

SAM WILSON

And you’ll be fine with that too? Him fighting without you, I mean.

Steve tilts his head back and forth, considering.

STEVE ROGERS

Well... it’ll take some getting used to ...

Sam snorts, and Steve rolls his eyes.

STEVE ROGERS (CONT'D)

But ... I have to trust both of you. Plus, I used myself as a bargaining chip when they worked out Bucky’s deal. It added some leverage.

(weighs his hands)

I stay out of the government’s hair ... they clear Buck as innocent and available for field work. 

(drops his hands)

I mean, I wanted out anyway. And I get it... He feels like he still has a debt to work off. I don’t agree with that, but I have to respect his choice.

Sam eyes him knowingly.

SAM WILSON

Those sound like Natasha’s words.

STEVE ROGERS

(sagely)

That’s because they  are .

Sam laughs a little, and claps Steve on the shoulder.

SAM WILSON

I’m proud of you, man. Never thought I’d see the day you’d finally retire.

Steve smiles at him softly, eyes crinkling.

STEVE ROGERS

Yeah, me either. But... someone reminded me there’s a lotta good I can still do that doesn’t involve my fists.

SAM WILSON

(knowingly)

Sounds like a smart guy.

Steve pulls Sam into a hug, and Sam hugs him back tightly.

STEVE ROGERS

Thanks, Sam. Really.

EXT. NEW YORK - SHIELD BASE - DAY

Steve walks out of the entrance, jogging down the steps with a spring in his step. He looks lighter than he has in a long time. As he walks towards his motorcycle on the curb, he pulls out his phone and sends a quick text.

CLOSE-UP on the text. It’s to Bucky, and it says, "The package has been delivered :) "

Bucky sends back a thumbs up emoji. 

Steve smiles, sticks his phone in his pocket, and rides off on his motorcycle.

EXT. NEW YORK - BROOKLYN BRIDGE - DAY

Steve rides across the bridge on his motorcycle, heading out of Manhattan.

EXT. STEVE AND BUCKY’S APARTMENT - DAY

Steve pulls up to a nice apartment building, and parks the motorcycle.

INT. STEVE AND BUCKY’S APARTMENT - HALLWAY - DAY

Steve walks through the hall and approaches the front door of the apartment, pulling out his keys. As he goes to unlock it, he stops, listening.

Faintly, we hear music coming from inside the apartment. The song is "It's Been A Long, Long Time," an echo of the way it was last time in The Winter Soldier when Bucky first crashed back into Steve’s life.

But this time, Steve's happy to hear it, not suspicious. He smiles to himself, unlocks the door, and pushes it open. The music immediately gets louder.

Steve walks into the living room, and there’s Bucky–an expected presence. He’s reading a paperback sci-fi book, holding it open with his metal hand, and there’s a white cat on his lap.

The room is bright and open, with huge windows. On the other side of the room are canvases on easels, with half-finished paintings. There’s a record player in the room, but the song is playing from a speaker next to it this time instead.

Bucky looks up at Steve and smiles. He puts the book down, and uses his phone to turn the volume down on the music.

Bucky studies Steve, and his smile grows.

BUCKY BARNES

So, it’s done. You look good. How we feelin’, Rogers?

Steve sticks his hands in his pockets and kind of shrugs. But then he slowly smiles like he can't help it–and looks out the window at the city.

STEVE ROGERS

Free.

CREDITS: MONTAGE OF ORIGINAL SIX AVENGERS / ACTORS

FADE OUT

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D
> 
> Only end credits left to go!


	15. End Credits

END CREDIT SCENE ONE

EXT. NEW STARK CABIN - BACKYARD - DAY

TITLE: EIGHT MONTHS LATER

The Stark’s two-story cabin sits near a lake in the woods, newly-purchased (again) with a “SOLD” sign in front of it.

Tony follows Pepper–who’s visibly pregnant–as she walks away from the house and into the backyard area. She’s moving around with no difficulties and rolls her eyes at him.

PEPPER POTTS

Tony, stop hovering. I’m  fine .

TONY STARK

I know you’re fine, but can you please humor me? There’s plenty of hands to go around. You don’t need to help with anything.

Pepper sighs in exasperation as they approach a picnic table that’s covered in a buffet of food and drinks . There’s  hot dogs, chips in bowls, salsas, sodas and beers in ice, etc.

PEPPER POTTS

I’m not even doing anything! You’re being ridiculous.

BRUCE BANNER (O.S.)

C’mon Pep, he’s just being cautious.

Pepper looks over at Bruce (“Professor Hulk”), who’s standing near a grill, making burgers. He’s wearing a huge apron and holding a too-small spatula.

BRUCE BANNER (CONT’D)

You’re only a few weeks out. Let him worry.

Pepper sighs again but dutifully perches on the end of a picnic bench.

TONY STARK

Thank you, Banner.

Bruce salutes with the spatula. Behind him, at the edge of the lake and out of focus, we can see a bunch of other figures in the distance. A small explosion of sparks comes from that group, and the focus changes to show us who’s over there:

Shuri, Peter Parker, Harley Keener, Cassie Lang, Rocket, and Groot are clustered around a picnic table that’s covered in scattered pieces of in-progress, modified paintball guns.

TONY STARK

(yelling over to them)

Kids–and uh, princess–safety first!

Shuri waves him off without looking up. Peter Parker waves at Tony with a paintball gun, as Harley also shoots a paintball at a nearby tree experimentally.

PETER PARKER

Everything’s fine, Mister Stark!

TONY STARK

(grumbling)

Why are there so many children in my life?

As he speaks,  Steve smoothly passes by  the food table and grabs a couple of beers. The camera follows along in a continuous tracking shot as he heads towards another table nearby, where Natasha, Clint, Sam, Rhodey, and Bucky are having a good-natured but heated discussion.

CLINT BARTON

I think there was enough room for them both to fit!

Steve hands Bucky one of the beers as he climbs over the bench, and Bucky quirks a smile at him in thanks.

STEVE ROGERS

What are we talking about?

SAM WILSON

The way Rose  obviously let Jack  die–

JAMES RHODES

Right after she said she wouldn’t let go–

NATASHA ROMANOFF 

It’s a  metaphor !

STEVE ROGERS

(amused)

This again?

Clint shrugs as the others continue to argue.

BUCKY BARNES

I think we should just get a door and try it ourselves.

The camera pans continuously to the next table.

Passing by one end: Nebula and Gamora are playing an intense game of paper football, with Mantis acting as referee. Nebula makes a final goal and throws her arms in the air, viciously victorious, as  Mantis confirms:

MANTIS

Goal!

NEBULA

I win! I beat you!

Gamora growls in anger and smacks the table.

GAMORA

Rematch,  now .

Pan to the other end of the table: Valkyrie and Thor are arm wrestling as Drax watches. Valkyrie wins, and Drax laughs in delight.

THOR

(grinning)

A fair victory.

DRAX

I would like to be defeated by the warrior woman!

Valkyrie scoots over to face him and holds out her other arm.

VALKYRIE

Be my guest.

Pan continuously down to the grass, where Loki, Wanda, and Vision sit cross-legged. Loki and Wanda are comparing their powers with swirls of green and red energy as Vision watches, all of them fascinated.

Pan up: Scott stands nearby, showing sleight-of-hand magic to a casually-dressed Doctor Strange.

SCOTT LANG

Now, watch this.

Scott reaches up into his mouth and pulls out a whole bunch of cards with a hurling sound, scattering them onto the grass.

DOCTOR STRANGE

That was disgusting.

(beat)

But tell me how you did it.

Scott grins.

Pan over: at another table, Hope is talking with T’Challa and Okoye.

HOPE VAN DYNE

So the Dora are all women? And it’s always been that way?

T’CHALLA

Yes.

OKOYE

It is tradition for the elite royal bodyguards.

HOPE VAN DYNE

Wow. Gotta say, I’m loving the idea of an all-woman team.

Pan over: on the other side of the table, Peter Quill ignores everyone, fiddling with his Zune and a speaker as he scrolls through music and tries to pick a song.

Pan  to the sky : a glowing Carol Danvers, with short hair now, flies in to land gently near the edge of the lake. She strides over to join Tony by the food as he puts one last plate down.

CAROL DANVERS

Sorry I’m late.

TONY STARK

Nope, perfect timing.

(yelling to everyone)

Food’s up!

E veryone stops what they’re doing and scrambles up, beelining towards the buffet.

TONY STARK

Make a line, you heathens!

PEPPER POTTS

Wait, before we eat, let’s take a group photo. It took months of planning to make today happen, and we forgot to get a picture at the wedding.

TONY STARK

We can do that.

(loudly, to everyone)

Okay, food’s down! Everyone get by the house, Mrs. Stark wants a picture!

There’s grumbling and jostling, but everyone starts congregating together and trying to figure out where to stand.

Tony  holds his phone out to Wanda.

TONY STARK

Do the honors?

WANDA MAXIMOFF 

Of course.

Tony joins Pepper in the center, with Rhodey on her other side as everyone shuffles around.

TONY STARK

Kids on the ground in front, the rest of us are too old for that.

SCOTT LANG

Should I get the suit to–?

Hope tugs Scott down to crouch with Cassie and the kids.

HOPE VAN DYNE

Nope.

SCOTT LANG

Okay.

Valkyrie scales Bruce to sit on his tall shoulders. Rocket climbs onto Groot ’s shoulders , and Groot elongates himself so he’s  taller . With a  whoosh of magic, Doctor Strange cloaks himself and moves to hover in the back above everyone, along with Carol and Vision.

Everyone else smushes together, standing in the front and center as best as possible. Loki subtly makes a platform of dirt for him and Thor to stand on for added height. Wanda stands on the edge of the group, and with tendrils of red energy she carefully floats the phone into the air in front of them all in selfie mode.

WANDA MAXIMOFF

Ready?

Gamora looks around and notices someone is missing.

GAMORA

Peter, come on!

Off to the side, Quill’s still fiddling with the Zune.

PETER QUILL

Got it!

Quill hits play, and the opening notes of “Good Times” by CHIC start. He scrambles over to join the picture just in time as everyone smiles at the camera.

WANDA MAXIMOFF

One, two ...

T he screen flashes white with a shutter sound as the picture is taken.

Freeze-frame of the image with a white border, diagonally on the screen like a printed photo.

As the music continues, the picture slowly moves up the screen , and  the credits scroll in beneath it.

[COMPLETE CREDITS]

My eternal gratitude goes to the following people, who repeatedly provided encouragement, their ideas, and their time:

My sister (@ajsolomon14)

Em (@buckobornes)

Jayn (@rocketlovebot)

Jenn (@TheKeyThief)

Katie

Mary Beth (@mblursen)

Olivia (@olivia_celtics)

Thank you for the cheerleading, brainstorming sessions, and extensive feedback. I love you all a lot and couldn’t have done it without you :)

CREDITS FOR IDEAS:

Avery Val @bisexualcapps: 

For the idea to bold parts taken from canon, and for being excited about this project always.

Rotem Rusak @Moondancer1626 :

For  [giving a compelling argument](https://twitter.com/Moondancer1626/status/1172680762249924608) for why Steve should still shave his beard after the snap. Part of the Cap persona is that clean-shaven, all-American jaw; the beard, however, is uniquely Steve.

Andrew Wheeler @Wheeler :

W ho wrote an alternative take on “Fat Thor.” I can retroactively recognize small details  [from his](https://twitter.com/Wheeler/status/1126320106194259970) inspired mine.

Lisa @valcarolnat :

F or  [Steve leaving Peggy’s compass behind](https://twitter.com/valcarolnat/status/1145758845395824641) .

Gracie @wrongrogers :

F or  [Extremis Pepper](https://twitter.com/wrongrogers/status/1161851211101999104) (and hype/support for this project). Shout out to Jayn for  Extremis Pepper as well, because I subjected her to an hour of brainstorming to make it  fit perfectly , and she came up with the perfect foreshadowing line.

And to anyone on Twitter who ever encouraged me, including my wonderful friends, mutuals, and various long-suffering followers: 

Thank you for your  excitement and your patience. I’m sorry it took so long. This was for all of you, and I really hope it made you happy !

END CREDIT SCENE TWO

BLACK SCREEN

The sound of a baby crying.

BABY’S POV: a blurry picture comes into view and begins to focus. It’s Tony’s face. He’s looking down at the baby–partially into the camera–as his eyes flit around in disbelief and wonder.

PEPPER POTTS (O.S.)

(tired)

Tony? Is it her?

Tony looks off screen at Pepper, tears in his eyes.

TONY STARK

It is. I can’t believe ...

He looks back down at the baby in awe.

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

(softly)

Hi, Morgan.

BLACK SCREEN

Tony speaks to Morgan, and the audience:

TONY STARK (CONT’D)

(whispering)

I love you 3000.

THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's that, folks! Thanks for coming on this ride with me. I really hope you enjoyed this and it didn't disappoint.
> 
> If I didn't include something you really wanted to see, I'm sorry. I tried to be comprehensive in my fan service, both based on myself and based on spending way too long in this fandom knowing (overall) what the people wanted to see. And if you want to write anything in this Rewrite universe and post it as a “related work,” please be my guest. Jayn and I intend to also, because this is now canon to us!
> 
> (See the end of the work for [other works inspired by this one](https://archiveofourown.org/chapters/57255643#children))
> 
> \----
> 
> PS Formal apologies to James Gunn, who's said that Peter hates Earth because it reminds him of his mother dying. So, whoops. But I just wanted my happy ending scene, and let's pretend someone got that bitch some therapy somewhere between the final battle and 8 months later.
> 
> **RELEVANT LINKS ONE MORE TIME:**
> 
> -[Download the formatted PDF](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1O1Wrq6Ym_i6Jzk9DPsWgnV91pEPxSODn/view?usp=sharing)
> 
>   
> -[Find out how to get a physical copy](https://endgamerewrite.tumblr.com/printedbook)
> 
> -[The Endgame Rewrite Tumblr](https://endgamerewrite.tumblr.com)  
>    
> **Don't forget to check out the last chapter for Jayn's incredible soundtrack! :)**


	16. The Soundtrack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This soundtrack has been compiled by Jayn H.C.
> 
> As a companion “soundtrack” to the Endgame Rewrite, the **Soundtrack list** contains many iconic pieces of music from the MCU. Tracks such as “One Shot” (Endgame), “Black Tears” (GoTG), and “A Little Nudge” (Ant-Man & The Wasp) are just a small sample of the works contained within this list. Listen-as-you-read or just listen whenever you feel like reliving some of the MCU’s most beautiful musical motifs as a refresher for the rewrite's story!
> 
> The **B-Side list** contains six (6) iconic songs from Endgame, plus two (2) additional songs taken from scenes in Endgame: Rewritten. Feel free to listen on your Zune instead if you have one!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Below are the tracks listed with corresponding scenes, so you can know for sure what each chosen track is intended to convey :) 
> 
> Songs aligned to the right are from the B-side playlist: mentioned in the screenplay, and not part of the score.
> 
> A note from Jayn:  
>  _For anybody who tries to listen to the soundtrack while they read: The songs are VERY MUCH designed to go with specific scenes, so your-mileage-may-vary depending on how fast you read, different formatting, etc. with regards to whether the songs will always align well. I would recommend giving the whole thing a second read-through with careful consideration of the music, so you can get the desired effect!_
> 
> **The Soundtrack:**  
> [On Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6DArce4oqhAtIyAwECUSij?si=14QxDgCKTmOSAJ645nmB6A) | [On Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/endgame-rewritten-the-soundtrack/pl.u-xlyNEpduekGZd5) | [On Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLimolX_CHSPLm3yykNYJR7CnnIy6kDQ0K)
> 
> **The B-Side:**  
> [On Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3dzB7LJh1K4ikuDS4ycifq?si=zKNDobz8RLOMQtvdec1Gyg) | [On Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/playlist/endgame-rewritten-the-b-side/pl.u-gxblgJ7CZ532Ga)
> 
> (Bonus: [Char's musical inspiration](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4VTfa0ihn1IFG1QjtNaakl?si=tbLqy_-zTMa-XTYqMtbXtg) listened to while writing hehe)

**Dear Mr. Fantasy - Traffic**

**1\. Totally Fine**

_Tony on the Benatar recording his message to Pepper; Captain Marvel to the rescue._

**2\. Arrival**

_The Benatar arrives at the Avengers facility; everyone reunites._

**3\. No Trust**

_Argument about Thanos in The Garden; “Let’s go get this son of a bitch.”_

**4\. Where Are They?**

_Journey to The Garden; scenes in Thanos’ hut._

**5\. Frozen In Time**

_5 years later; Steve at the support group._

**6\. A Little Nudge**

_Teenage Cassie Lang collects Scott’s van and saves Scott from the Quantum Realm; Scott learns it’s been 5 years._

**7\. Natasha**

_Natasha in holo-conference with the team; Natasha and Steve compare depression notes._

**8\. About Damn Time**

_Scott Lang arrives at the Avengers facility._

**9\. I Figured It Out**

_Steve, Natasha, and Scott visit the Stark cabin; explanation of the time heist; cute Tony & Morgan scenes._

**10\. Perfectly Not Confusing**

_Testing out time travel at the Avengers facility._

**Supersonic Rocket Ship - The Kinks**

**11\. Forgive Me**

_New Asgard; Rocket and Bruce talk Thor into helping._

**12\. The Mission**

_Clint in the mob’s basement; Natasha and Clint fight their way out and have their reunion._

**Doom And Gloom - The Rolling Stones**

**13\. Pym’s Lab**

_Scott tests the time travel and gets more Pym particles from Hank’s lab in the past._

**14\. The How Works**

_Planning the times and places to travel to._

**15\. Sisters**

_Gamora connects with Nebula in the dream; Nebula sees the Soul World._

**16\. One Shot**

_Steve gives a rousing speech; into the Quantum Realm they go._

**17\. The Avengers**

_New York - 2012; Tony, Steve, Bruce, and Scott arrive in the chaotic streets._

**18\. Snap Out Of It**

_Asgard - 2013; Thor and Rocket creep through the halls._

**19\. Morag**

_Morag - 2014. Clint, Rhodey, Natasha, and Nebula arrive. Natasha and Nebula return to 2023 and head to The Garden._

**20\. So Many Stairs**

_2023 Avengers in 2012 shenanigans; 2012 Hulk disrupts the plan._

**21\. Cap’s Promise**

_Steve fights his 2012 self._

**22\. He Gave It Away**

_Bruce and The Ancient One talk; she gives him the time stone._

**23\. Science and Magic**

_Thor and Loki talk; Jane and Rocket talk, and Frigga arrives._

**Come and Get Your Love - Redbone**

**24\. Everyone’s An Idiot**

_Rhodey and Clint knock out Peter Quill and head into the temple to get the power stone._

**25\. Plasma Ball**

_Rhodey and Clint fight Korath and leave Morag._

**26\. Keys To The Past**

_Steve, Tony,and Scott talk about how to get the Tesseract and new particles; Steve and Tony leave for 1970._

**Hey Lawdy Mama - Steppenwolf**

**27\. In Plain Sight**

_New Jersey - 1970; walking through the base; Tony runs into his father._

**28\. Whatever It Takes**

_Steve says goodbye to Peggy one last time; Tony gets closure with Howard and Jarvis._

**29\. What Did It Cost?**

_Natasha and Nebula outmaneuver the Soul Stone; Nebula is granted possession of it._

**30\. Consequences**

_The team discusses how to “fix” 5 years of damage; Nebula says she has to be the one to wield the stones._

**31\. Stark Goes Green**

_Tony prepares the nanotech gauntlet; Tony and Nebula have a quiet conversation._

**32\. Black Tears**

_Nebula wields the gauntlet/stones; everyone lends their strength to her; and she “snaps.”_

**33\. Morning After**

_Nebula in the Soul World with Gamora; 2023 Nebula replaces 2018 Nebula on Thanos’ ship, and gets caught._

**Livin’ Thing - Electric Light Orchestra**

**34\. Five Seconds**

_Steve and Natasha replace their 2018 counterparts, reuinte with Sam, and call Bucky._

**35\. The Farm**

_Clint replaces his 2018 counterpart and reunites with Laura._

**36\. Where To?**

_Thor replaces his 2018 counterpart and reunites with Loki._

**37\. Partners**

_Scott replaces his 2018 counterpart and reunites with young Cassie and Luis._

**38\. No More Surprises**

_Tony replaces his 2018 counterpart and gives Pepper a letter from her alternate self; Tony and Rhodey meet on Bleecker Street and talk; Tony and Rhodey meet with Strange._

**39\. Catch**

_All scenes from Thanos interrogating Nebula through Thanos attacking the Quinjet, and Rocket panicking over comms._

**40\. Worth It**

_Loki reveals the Tesseract; Steve fights Thanos while Vision saves Natasha and Sam; Tony gives Strange his communicator._

**41\. The One**

_Tony joins the battle; Thanos fights Steve & Tony while Sam, Natasha, Vision, and Wanda are confronted with the children of Thanos._

**42\. Portals**

_Defeat seems imminent... then backup arrives via magical portals._

**43\. Get This Thing Started**

_The battle continues._

**44\. To The Stars**

_After Thanos is dead, Gamora and Quill desperately look for Nebula amongst the wreckage of Nebula’s ship; Gamora tells her it’s over._

**45\. The Last One**

_The last of the fight; the original 6 Avengers sit and wind down after a battle together one last time._

**46\. A Promise**

_Tony’s voiceover with the montage of where the heroes are now–and the next generation._

**47\. Passage of Time**

_Steve passes on the mantle of Captain America._

**It’s Been A Long, Long Time -Harry James**

**48\. Main On End**

_The end credits._

**Good Times - CHIC**

**49\. New Beginnings**

_The happy ending–and beyond, into the future._

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Give that Brain a Break](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24048616) by [persephone20](https://archiveofourown.org/users/persephone20/pseuds/persephone20)




End file.
